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FRANCE AND ITALY 



I 



/ 



FRANCE AND ITALY 



( 

IMBERT DE SAINT-AMAND 



TRANSLATED BY 

ELIZABETH GILBERT MARTIN 



WITH PORTRAITS 



NEW YORK 

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 

1899 



•F'^own ''oov 




'■^^ SEP 201898 j 



THE LIBRA lY 
OF CONGRESS 

WASHINGTON 



42201 

COPYRIGHT, l8gQ, BY 
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 



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2, /-^ 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Introduction 1 

CHAPTER 

I. The CoMMENCEiyiENT OF 1859 8 

II. The Mabkiage of Pkince Napoleon 14 

III. Th» Princess Clotilde 23 

IV. The Anontmoos Brochure , 28 

V. The Speech from the Throne 35 

VI. The Partisans of Peace 42 

VII. England and Piedmont 48 

Vni. Prussia and the Germanic Confederation 54 

IX. Eussia 61 

X. The Carnival 67 

XL Lent 74 

XII. Holy Week 81 

XIII. Easter Week 88 

XIV. The Opening of the War 97 

XV. The Departure of the Emperor 104 

V 



Vi CONTENTS 

OHAPTEE PAGE 

XVI. Genoa and Alexandria Ill 

XVII. MONTEBELLO 118 

XVIII. Palestko 123 

XIX. TURBIGO 131 

XX. The Battle of Magenta 136 

XXI. The Morrow of Magenta 148 

XXII. The Entry into Milan 154 

XXIII. Melegnano 162 

XXIV. Before Solferino 168 

XXV. The Battle of Solferino * 182 

XXVI. After Solferino 195 

XXVII. The Empress Regent 202 

XXVIII. Prince Napoleon 211 

XXIX. The Diplomatic Situation 218 

XXX. The Last Days OF THE War 224 

XXXI. The Armistice 230 

XXXII. The Interview of Villafranoa 240 

XXXIII. The Preliminaries of Peace 247 

XXXIV. The Resignation of Cavour 256 

XXXV. The Emperor's Return , 262 

XXXVI. Saint-Cloud 271 

XXXVII. The Return of the Troops 283 



CONTENTS Vll 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXXVIII. Tuscany 292 

XXXIX. Parma 303 

XL. MoDBNA 309 

XLI. The Komagnas 315 

XLII. Saint-Sauveur 324 

XLIII. Biarritz and Bordeaux 331 

XLIV. The Close of 1859 338 

PORTRAITS 

Victor Emmanuel Frontispiece 

Marshal MacMahon Face Page 64 

Francis Joseph " " 128 

Count Cavoue " " 256 



FEANCE AND ITALY 



INTRODUCTION 

/^UR misfortunes occupy our minds too much; we 
^^ do not think enough about our glories. Hypno- 
tized by the memory of our disasters, we lose sight 
of triumphs, the record of which is, nevertheless, pre- 
eminently adapted to fortify the military sentiment 
which is the hope and consolation of France. We 
dwell too much on Sedan and Metz, not long enough 
on Sebastopol, Magenta, and Solferino. What 
would be said of the heirs of the First Empire if 
they insisted on talking of nothing but Leipsic and 
Waterloo ? The utility of the Italian War may be 
disputed, but the heroism of those who took part in 
it is beyond question. Many of them are still living. 
With what respect we should surround them, how 
eagerly we should beg them to relate the history of 
their exploits ! Surely it pertains to them to give 
important lessons to our young army. To act well 
it would merely need to imitate them. 

The historians of the wars of the First Empire 
have been innumerable. The pens which deal with 
those of the Second are as yet few. Nevertheless, 
there has probably never been a siege comparable in 



FRANCE AND ITALY 



importance to that of Sebastopol, and few victories 
have been as memorable as those of Magenta and 
Solferino. At present I intend to give a brief ac- 
count of these two great battles, studying, meanwhile, 
the entire year 1859, which played so important a 
part in the destinies of France and Italy. This study 
may properly be included in the series by which I 
have preceded it, since a woman of the Tuileries, the 
Empress Eugenie, was regent during the war. At 
that time I was attached to the political department 
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and I have since 
re-read the despatches written before, during, and 
after the hostilities. I have been able to follow 
every fluctuation of public opinion, to study the 
various ways in which the occurrences of the war were 
at first commented on at Paris by different classes of 
society, to note day by day the impressions, criticisms, 
joys, and apprehensions of the public. I was present 
at the Te Deum and the popular festivities by which 
the troops were welcomed home. I seem still to 
hear the trumpets blaring and the noise of the 
acclamations. 

No two wars could be more unlike than those of 
1870 and of 1859. The one was as long and lamen- 
table as the other was swift and joyous. Alas ! it 
was but too brilliant. A few wholesome reverses 
would have averted that overweening self-confidence 
which was afterwards one of the principal causes of 
the disasters of France. Had she experienced defeats 
as well as victories in Italy, she would have been 



INTBOBUCTION 



compelled to recognize that her effective forces by 
land and sea were not such as to admit of her playing 
that preponderating role to which she aspired through- 
out the world, and she would not have opposed the 
Emperor when he desired to model our military in- 
stitutions on those of Prussia. The reminiscences of 
the Italian War were too flattering to the national 
vanity. People got in the way of looking only at 
the bright side of military matters, the reverse of 
the medal was neglected, and it was through the 
prism of the victories of 1859 that the men of 1870 
contemplated a disproportionate struggle. Alas ! we 
have paid dear for our illusions ! But how seductive 
they were ! How they made our hearts beat ! 
France delighted in her glory like a pretty woman 
in her mirror. She convinced herself that she was 
the superlatively great nation, as Paris was the capi- 
tal of capitals. Had one ventured then to hint that 
our country was not absolutely invincible, he would 
have been scouted as an alarmist and a coward. Now, 
cruel experience has proved the fragility of much 
that was then admired for its splendor. But the 
memory of those days of enthusiasm and apotheosis 
has still a charm. -Oldjmen like to recall their youth, 
and in winter we dream of the radiance of spring. 

The remarkable thing about the Italian War is the 
way in which it throws up into full light the char- 
acter of Napoleon III., bringing out both qualities 
and defects ; his energy, his strength of will, his 
audacity, his courage, but also his adventurous dis- 



FRANCE AND ITALY 



position, his innate tendency to conspire, and his 
temperament as a political gamester. Such as we 
beheld him at Strasburg, at Boulogne, and at the 
coup cfEtat^ such we shall find him again in 1859, 
concealing his designs even from his closest confi- 
dants, preparing a war as one would organize a plot, 
braving the greatest dangers with imperturbable cool- 
ness, flinging himself headlong into enterprises whose 
consequences nobody could foresee, restrained by no 
objection, confiding in his star, and risking all for all 
like a true fatalist whom nothing can trouble or 
alarm. 

Napoleon III. has been represented as a dreamer, 
irresolute, chimerical, at the mercy of events, and 
blindly obedient to the suggestions of his advisers. 
Nothing could be more unlike the truth. On the con- 
trary, until disease had impaired his forces, the Em- 
peror was pre-eminently a man of action, relying on 
no one but himself, and no political personage has 
possessed to a higher degree the quality of personal 
initiative. What other pretender has ever dreamed 
of such bold attempts as those of Strasburg and 
Boulogne? What coup d''Etat was ever so rash as 
that of the Second of December? What war was 
ever more mysteriously prepared or more imprudently 
engaged in than that of 1859? 

Documents still unpublished will permit us to deter- 
mine in a precise manner the attitude of the different 
powers in this European crisis. They will show the 
extraordinary difiiculties encountered by the apostle 



INTRODUCTION 



of nationalities, not merely on battlefields, but in the 
chanceries, in attempting usefully to defend the Ital- 
ian cause. We shall see that he stood almost alone 
in France in desiring the war ; that he made ready for 
it contrary to the advice of his wife, his ministers, 
the Senate, the Corps L%islatif, and public opinion ; 
that he cleverly contrived to make the Emperor of 
Austria seem to be the aggressor, while in reality 
that post was occupied by King Victor Emmanuel ; 
that in Italy he lost control of events notwithstand- 
ing his victories ; that he was compelled to halt after 
Solferino, and that Russia would not have defended 
him against Germany, which was rising en masse ; that 
he sincerely desired the establishment of an Italian 
Confederation, but found no one who would seri- 
ously support such a combination ; in fine, that it 
was against his will and after long hesitation that he 
was induced to adopt a policy which resulted first 
in Italian unity and afterwards in that of Germany. 
Doubtless the Emperor did not thoroughly accom- 
plish his task. But, in spite of many disappoint- 
ments, it cannot be denied that but for him Milan and 
Venice would still be under Austrian domination, nor 
that there was something chivalrous in his policy. 
It was the negation of the maxim: Might makes 
right. It proclaimed the doctrine that peoples should 
have the power to decide their own destiny. It ex- 
tolled the forward march of civilization. Other ideas 
have gained the ascendency since his fall, and it may 
be that they will cause his to be longed for. Count 



C- 



JC 



6 FBANCE AND ITALY 

Albert Vandal has said so eloquently in his address 
of reception at the French Academy: "We have 
seen the powers which we placed in the hands of peo- 
ples turned against us ; they have been used to strike, 
to wound, to pierce us to the heart ; but who can say 
that the universal conscience will not avenge us, that 
it does not even now avenge us by remembering what 
humanity has lost since the greatness of France has 
diminished ? " 

The war of Italy, not less important in itself than 
in its consequences, has inaugurated a new era. It has 
produced profound modifications in the diplomatic 
situation and in international law. It has stated 
problems which are still unsolved, and from the 
triple standpoint of politics, religion, and society, it 
remains the object of numerous controversies. We 
must congratulate ourselves, however, that it has left 
no trace of animosity between Austria and France. 
Nothing separates the two nations, and if they reflect 
on their veritable interests, they will recognize that 
both are necessary to European equilibrium. The 
France of 1859 saluted the heroism of the Austrian 
army, and it may be affirmed to-day that there is not a 
single Frenchman who does not desire the prosperity 
of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and the mainte- 
nance of its integrity. The Emperor Francis Joseph, 
once our brave and chivalrous adversary, is as much 
respected by Frenchmen as by his own subjects. 

On the other hand, we are convinced that a con- 
scientious study of the events of 1859 must have the 



INTRODUCTION 



result of inspiring salutary reflections in the two 
allied nations which fought heroically side by side. 
Italy ought not to forget that in the days of her great 
trials she had no friend but France, and it seems to be 
time for disastrous misunderstandings to cease. In 
March, 1871, Jules Favre wrote to M. Rotham : 
"With the transformation of science, two peoples 
who inhabit the shores of the same sea, who are 
united by a common origin, the exchanges of naviga- 
tion, and the resemblance of manners and characters, 
can be enemies only through the criminal folly of 
their governments." A war between France and 
Italy would be a civil war. May such a spectacle 
never be presented to the patriots of both nations ! 
At present affinities of race, religion, and language 
may get the better of erroneous calculations, and at- 
tempts at reconciliation may be noted. And it may 
be that the time is opportune for evoking souvenirs 
which should be indissoluble ties of amity between 
the two peoples. No, no ; it will not be said that so 
much generous blood has been shed in vain, and that 
the Latin race has made so many heroic sacrifices ab- 
solutely without avail. 

It is to the survivors of the war of Italy that we 
dedicate these simple pages. Should any of those 
intrepid men do us the honor of glancing over them, 
they may find some interest in reading the story of 
their exploits and receive the respectful homage ren- 
dered to their courage and their patriotism ! 

IMBERT DE SAINT-AMAND. 



CHAPTER I 

THE COMMENCEMENT OF 1859 

/^N the morning of January 1, 1859, the year that 
^^^ was beginning seemed as if it must be a tran- 
quil one. In Paris, the winter season promised to 
be brilliant. A host of balls and soirees were in 
preparation. Commerce and industry were in full 
prosperity. No one suspected that any difficulty 
whatever could occur at the Tuileries during the 
diplomatic reception on New Year's Day. Hence, 
the representatives of the powers were greatly amazed 
when they heard Napoleon III. say to Baron Hiibner, 
Austrian ambassador: "I regret that our relations 
with your government may not be so good as they 
have been ; but I beg you to say to the Emperor that 
my personal sentiments have not changed." 

This simple sentence, although uttered in a calm 
and courteous tone, resounded like a clap of thunder 
in a clear sky. 

Business slackened, stocks fell, speculators were 
seriously disturbed. But the excitement soon abated. 
At the reception of the Empress on the following 
day, both she and her husband paid Baron Hiibner 
most particular attentions, as if to efface the painful 



THE COMMENCEMENT OF 1859 9 

impressions of the day before. In his conversa- 
tions with the representatives of the powers, Count 
Walewski, Minister of Foreign Affairs, sought to 
reduce the imperial remark to the proportions of an 
incident not in the least bellicose. Optimism was the 
fashion in official circles. No change occurred in the 
routine of the salons. The theatres played to full 
houses ; balls were as numerous as in previous 
winters. The official journals took good care not to 
arouse vain fears by sounding the alarm clock too 
early. Anxieties were finally dispelled by the fol- 
lowing paragraph in the Moniteur of January 7 : 
" For several days past public opinion has been dis- 
turbed by alarming rumors which it is the duty of 
the government to put an end to by declaring there 
is nothing in our diplomatic relations to authorize 
the fears these rumors have a tendency to produce." 
Now let us see how matters were considered in 
Austria. The French charge d'affaires at Vienna, 
the Marquis de Banneville, on January 8, addressed 
the following despatch in cipher to Count Walewski: 
" The general excitement which for some days past 
seems to have prevailed in European circles, must be 
felt more keenly in Vienna than elsewhere, since the 
incidents which, rightly or wrongly, have occasioned 
this excitement chiefly refer to the international 
relations of Austria. A sort of panic was produced 
which the declaration of the Moniteur has to-day 
greatly allayed. Moreover, I know that Baron 
Hiibner, in reporting the words addressed to him by 



10 FRANCE AND ITALY 

the Emperor, gave them an altogether different 
meaning than that attributed to them for a moment 
by public opinion, and he added that the tone and 
accent in which they were pronounced rendered them 
still more conciliatory and friendly." 

At Turin, the Prince de La Tour d'Auvergne, 
minister of France, had instantly appreciated the 
gravity of the situation. January 3, he wrote to 
Count Walewski : " Everybody is anxious, and public 
opinion looks forward more than ever to great events 
in a near future. The presence of the famous Gen- 
eral Garibaldi at Turin has given rise to many com- 
ments. I know that he had a long conference last 
week with Count Cavour. He is said to have made a 
formal engagement with the president of the council, 
in presence of General La Marmora, to hold him- 
self at the disposition of the Sardinian government 
in case of war, renouncing all alliance with the Maz- 
zinian party, and referring altogether, so it is affirmed, 
to M. de Cavour, should occasion arise, the proper 
solution of the Italian question. Nothing more was 
required to authorize all manner of suppositions, and 
possibly it miglit have been cleverer on the part of 
Count Cavour, supposing it necessary to put himself 
in relations with Garibaldi, to keep the interview 
entirely secret." 

January 10, Victor Emmanuel opened the session 
of the Sardinian parliament. These words in the 
royal speech produced a great impression : " Fortified 
by the experience of the past, let us go resolutely to 



TEE COMMENCEMENT OF 1859 11 

meet the contingencies of the future. This future 
will be happy, our policy being founded upon love 
of liberty and the fatherland. Our country, whose 
territory is small, has acquired consideration in the 
councils of Europe, because it is great by means of 
the ideas it represents and the sympathies which it 
inspires. This situation is not free from perils since, 
while respecting the treaties, we are not insensible 
to the cries of anguish arising from all parts of Italy. 
Made strong by union, confiding in the goodness of 
our cause, we await with prudence and resolution 
the decrees of divine providence." 

In a despatch of the same day, the Prince de La 
Tour d'Auvergne gave the following account of the 
session : " The latter part of the address in which 
His Majesty alluded to the possibilities of the future 
was received with hearty applause in which even the 
tribunes took part. The impression produced in the 
diplomatic body by the King's remarks, moreover, 
seemed to me rather favorable. It was satisfactory, 
under existing circumstances, to find His Majesty 
talking of his respect for the treaties. My colleagues 
of Russia and Prussia, who sat beside me, did justice 
to the moderation of this language. The King, on 
entering the Chamber as well as on leaving it, was 
welcomed with much enthusiasm." 

The next day, January 11, the minister of France 
wrote another despatch : " The opinion of the mem- 
bers of the diplomatic corps on the speech of the 
crown is far from unanimous. If some of my col- 



12 FRANCE AND ITALY 

leagues appreciated it with kindness, the larger num- 
ber seemed much affected by the phrase in which His 
Majesty avows that he is not insensible to the cries 
of anguish which reach him from all parts of Italy. 
Even public opinion, I must admit, appears to con- 
sider the speech rather bellicose." 

In Vienna likewise, stress was laid on warlike 
ideas. The Marquis de Banneville was under no 
illusion. He expressed himself as follows in a de- 
spatch of January 14 : "I have good reason to believe 
that the Austrian government has for some time been 
familiarizing itself sufficiently with the notion of 
a war to find relative compensations should this 
supreme necessity actually arise. Doubtless the 
chances of war are very uncertain for it, and it does 
not disguise the fact that its Italian provinces are at 
stake ; but it deems its military condition sufficiently 
good to permit it to take these risks, without fool- 
hardy hopes, but also without over-anxiety or dis- 
couragement. It is sustained by confidence that a 
war undertaken solely for the purpose of depriving 
it of Lombardy and Venetia would certainly bring 
it allies within a given time. In fine, between the 
possible recurrence of the revolutionary events which 
in 1848 menaced the Austrian monarchy with disso- 
lution in all its provinces and an external war, it 
would not hesitate to choose the latter extremity. 
The first of these dangers outranks all others in its 
estimation, and it would brave the first in order to 
avoid the second." 



THE COMMENCEMENT OF 1859 13 

Things were at this point when an item of news 
became known which was considered symptomatic 
of an approaching war in which France would be the 
ally of Piedmont : the betrothal of Prince Napoleon 
and the Princess Clotilde, daughter of King Victor 
Emmanuel. 



CHAPTER II 

THE MAREIAGE OP PRINCE NAPOLEON 

^T^HE Moniteur of January 14 announced that 
. Prince Napoleon had set off for Turin the 
previous day and that his absence would be short. 
The object of this journey was already known in 
Europe. The same day, the Marquis de Banneville, 
charge d ^affcm-es of France at Vienna, wrote to 
Count Walewski : " Count Buol (Austrian Minister 
of Foreign Affairs) offered me his congratulations on 
the subject of the marriage of Prince Napoleon with 
the Princess Clotilde of Savoy, with a very good 
grace and without the slightest constraint. He spoke 
of the family ties which this union would establish 
between the imperial houses of France and Austria. 
'I desire sincerely,' he added, smiling, 'that this 
alliance may prove more profitable to you than our 
own very numerous ones with the house of Savoy 
have been to us.' " 

The betrothal was ofQcially announced by the 
Moniteur of January 24. The government organ 
expressed itself as follows : " The intimate relations 
which have long existed between the Emperor and 
King Victor Emmanuel, and the reciprocal interests 

14 



THE MARBIAGE OF PBINCE NAPOLEON 15 

of France and Savoy, have induced the two sover- 
eigns to draw still more close the ties uniting them 
by a family alliance. For more than a year the pre- 
liminaries have been under discussion, but the youth 
of the Princess has delayed until now the date of the 
marriage." At the close of this communication, and 
to prevent the public from considering it as a symp- 
tom of war, the Moniteur wrote : " The Union journal 
has not been afraid to reproduce the following lines 
from the Independance Beige : ' It is affirmed that 
King Victor Emmanuel gave his consent to the mar- 
riage of the Princess Clotilde only on condition of an 
offensive and defensive alliance between France and 
Sardinia. It is added that the treaty between France 
and Sardinia was signed the day before yesterday.' 
We regret having to repeat and contradict in the 
French press an assertion not less false than it is 
insulting to the dignity of the sovereigns. The 
Emperor must desire that his family alliances 
should be in accord with the traditional policy of 
France, but he will never make the great interests 
of the country depend upon a family alliance." 

Prince Napoleon landed at Genoa in the morning 
of January 16. He was received there by Count 
Nigra, minister of the household of the King, by 
General Cialdini, aide-de-camp of His Majesty, and 
by Prince de La Tour d'Auvergne, minister of 
France. He left the same day for Turin, where he 
arrived at three o'clock. 

The next day, the minister of France wrote to 



16 FRANCE AND ITALY 

Count Walewski : " On the road from Genoa to 
Turin, and particularly at Alessandria, the Prince 
received the most flattering and cordial welcome; 
but nothing can give an idea of the immense 
throng of people, and the ardent demonstrations of 
sympathy, which awaited His Imperial Highness at 
Turin. All the streets from the railway to the palace 
were filled by a crowd, who were anxious to behold 
the Emperor's cousin, and who respectfully lifted 
their hats as he passed by. Numerous cries of ' Long 
live Napoleon ! ' were heard. The King received his 
august visitor in the most cordial way. After the 
dinner, at which the ministers of the King, the court 
agents, and the personnel of the legation were the 
only guests, the King, accompanied by His Imperial 
Highness and Prince de Carignan, went to the Reggio 
theatre, brilliantly illuminated for the occasion. The 
house was full, and His Majesty as well as His Im- 
perial Highness were saluted by hearty applause." 

In the evening of January 17, after a family 
dinner at the court. Prince Napoleon went to Count 
Cavour's reception, where the assembly was very 
large, all displaying the best sentiments for the 
cousin of the Emperor. 

January 18. — Another despatch from the Prince de 
La Tour d'Auvergne to Count Walewski: "Prince 
Napoleon's arrival at Turin has produced a general 
and profound sensation. It seems to me that the 
prevailing sentiment is one of entire confidence in 
the Emperor's sympathies for Piedmont, and the 



THE MABBIAGE OF PRINCE NAPOLEON 17 

assistance of his government in escaping honorably 
from a situation whose dangers are evident to all 
and begin to disquiet gravely even the most ardent 
partisans of the policy of Count Cavour. The pro- 
jected union between H. I. H. Prince Napoleon and 
H. R. H. Madame the Princess Clotilde, now known 
to everybody and very favorably received by public 
opinion, with some exceptions, which are, however, 
much less numerous than was thought at first, comes 
to confirm these expectations. It is ta be hoped, 
and such, Count, is the desire of all prudent minds, 
that these motives of confidence will react in the 
direction of calmness and patience on the attitude 
and the projects of the cabinet of Turin. ... In 
reality, there exists at present among the representa- 
tives of foreign governments resident at Turin a sort 
of uncertainty, I might even say of anxiety, concern- 
ing the future and likewise our intentions. I feel it 
my duty to notify Your Excellency of this sentiment, 
which it might be well to bear in mind to some 
extent." 

January 22. — Another despatch from the Prince 
de La Tour d'Auvergne: "The most cordial rela- 
tions have been established between the King and 
His Imperial Highness. The young Princess seems 
equally satisfied with the fate in store for her. The 
partisans of Italian independence hail the marriage 
with joy. They consider it an assured pledge of 
support to be given their cause by the Emperor in 
a near future. Impressions are different and less 



18 FRANCE AND ITALY 

favorable among the upper classes. The skilfully 
fostered dread lest a war which Piedmont alone 
would not dare to maintain against Austria may be 
the foreseen result of the new ties by which the 
houses of France and Savoy are to be united, is very 
keen. . . . The Chamber will certainly not refuse 
the means necessary to protect the country from an 
attack by Austria, but public opinion plainly fears 
rash and headlong enterprises more than ever, 
and Count Cavour will act wisely if he profits by 
the occasion to reassure it as far as lies in his 
power." 

January 23. — General Niel officially requested the 
King to give the hand of Princess Clotilde to Prince 
Napoleon. This request was received by the sover- 
eign in the most cordial manner. During the day, 
deputations from the Senate and Chamber of Depu- 
ties came to the palace with the response to the 
speech from the throne. His Majesty acquainted 
them with the approaching marriage of his 
daughter. 

January 24. — Prince Napoleon dines at the 
French legation, going afterwards to a splendid 
court ball. The Princess Clotilde, who dances 
with him several times, is the object of general 
attention. Everybody notices the easy grace dis- 
played by the young Princess throughout the even- 
ing. Already she seems much attached to her 
future husband. The Prince had just done some- 
thing which had deeply affected her= He went to 



THE MARBIAGE OF PRINCE NAPOLEON 19 

see Prince Otho, third son of the King, at the castle 
of Moncalieri, where His Royal Highness lives. The 
young prince, whom an infirmity of infancy had 
always kept away from court, was deeply moved 
by this visit. "Perhaps I shall never know my 
brother-in-law," he had mournfully remarked a few 
minutes before the Prince arrived. 

January 25. — In concert with Count Nigra, 
minister of the royal household, the French minister 
signs the matrimonial agreement. By Article IH., 
the King, conformably to the law of the country, 
assures the Princess a dowry of 500,000 francs. 
Article IV. mentions that the King presents the 
Princess with a sum of 100,000 francs specially 
intended to provide her trousseau, independently 
of rings and jewels valued at about 245,000 
francs. 

January 28. — A deputation from the municipal 
and communal councils of Turin present the Princess 
with a beautifully chased silver chandelier which 
had been admired at the last exhibition as a master- 
piece of Piedmontese industry. 

January 29. — The marriage contract is signed at 
the palace, in presence of the ministers and the 
whole court. Count Cavour acts as notary of the 
crown. He reads the act by which the Princess 
renounces all right to inherit from the royal family, 
and the contract is signed by all present. In the 
evening, the city is brilliantly illuminated. 

Sunday^ January 30. — The marriage is celebrated 



20 FRANCE AND ITALY 

at ten o'clock in the morning in the palace chapel. 
Assisted by the Bishops of Diella, Pignerol, Casal, 
and Savona, the Archbishop of Yercelli gives the 
nuptial benediction. 

At half -past one the married pair, the King, Prince 
de Carignan, the entire court, the French minister, 
and all the members of his legation, set off for 
Genoa. The national guard and the troops in 
garrison at Turin are under arms. The whole 
population awaits anxiously the coming of the royal 
procession. Victor Emmanuel, in a fine open car- 
riage drawn by six horses, has the Princess Clotilde 
on his right. Opposite the Princess is Prince Napo- 
leon, Prince de Carignan sits opposite the King. 
The sovereign and the husband and wife are touched 
by the emotion of the crowd. There is a general 
acclamation ; blessings, cheers, wishes for her happi- 
ness, are incessantly addressed to the young Princess, 
who replies by saluting with as much grace as 
affability. The railway platform is decorated with 
flowers. The ovation does not end until the pierc- 
ing whistle of the locomotive is heard. 

All along the road, from Turin to Genoa, the coun- 
try people hasten to greet the King, his daughter, 
and his son-in-law. The train stops at Monca- 
lieri, and again at Asti, where five hundred Pied- 
montese decorated with the Saint Helena medal 
are assembled, and where the municipality offers 
the Princess a bouquet and a box of candy; again 
at Alessandria, where the crowd is immense, and at 



THE MABBIAGE OF PRINCE NAPOLEON 21 

Novi, where there are also a great many Saint 
Helena medallists. Everywhere Victor Emmanuel 
receives the homage of the local authorities with 
his usual kindliness, and everywhere the noble atti- 
tude and gracious physiognomy of the Princess 
excite deep sympathy. 

They arrive at Genoa. On its way to the palace 
the royal cortege is preceded by students. Eighty- 
five deputies and twenty senators are in the city. 
The King and the newly married pair are present 
in the evening at the Carlo Felice theatre, where 
the audience receive them with transports of en- 
thusiasm. Brilliantly illuminated, Genoa the Proud, 
with her marble palaces and her splendid roadstead, 
presents an enchanting spectacle. 

January/ SI. — The King and Their Imperial High- 
nesses go aboard the French vessels sent to Genoa 
to escort the spouses as far as Marseilles. The 
ensemble and the manoeuvres of these vessels are 
highly appreciated. In the evening, a grand ball 
reunites the ^lite of Genoese society and the 
diplomatic corps which has followed the court to 
Genoa. 

February 1. — Victor Emmanuel is touched when 
parting from his cherished daughter ; he asks himself 
what will become of her in France, a land disturbed 
by so many revolutions, and so often fatal to its 
princes and princesses. It wants a quarter to eleven 
o'clock. The spouses go aboard the Heine Hortense. 
With the Princess goes her governess, the Marquise 



22 FBANCE AND ITALY 

de Villamarina del Campo, wlio is to remain with 
her for a month. The King would not bid his 
daughter farewell until the Heine Hortense had left 
the harbor. He returned to Genoa in a launch, and 
his manly face betrayed his emotion. 



CHAPTER III 

THE PRINCESS CLOTILDB 

n^HE Princess who lands at Marseilles on Feb- 
ruary 2, 1859, will be sixteen on the second of 
March. 

Daughter of King Victor Emmanuel (born March 
14, 1820) and of the Austrian Archduchess Adelaide 
(born June 3, 1822, died January 20, 1855), she has 
profited well by an excellent education. In her 
attitude, language, and her entire person, there is a 
blending of simplicity and nobility, of modesty and 
dignity, which is full of charm. No sooner does she 
touch the soil of France than this daughter of kings, 
this descendant of saints and heroes, is saluted with 
veneration. She inspires all French people with 
profound respect, even those who are not in favor of 
a war for Italy. Is it the fault of this gentle creature 
if her marriage is linked with warlike negotiations ? 
Can she in whose veins the blood of the Hapsburgs 
flows with that of Savoy be reproached for a struggle 
which will be a sort of family war between two rival 
houses? What is there in common between the 
horrors of the battlefield and the good Princess who, 
true to the precepts of the Gospel, would desire that 

23 



24 FBANCE AND ITALY 

all peoples might dwell in fraternal and Christian 
unity ? The crowd feels a vague presentiment that 
the young Princess will not be happy. A trace of 
sadness and premature melancholy is already per- 
ceptible on her youthful features. 

February 2. — On arriving at Marseilles, Prince 
Napoleon and the Princess find there the Emperor's 
aide-de-camp, General Fleury, and also Countess de 
Rayneval and Madame de Saulcy, ladies of the 
palace of the Empress, commissioned to congratulate 
them on their arrival in France. Their Imperial 
Highnesses, after receiving the authorities, breakfast 
at the prefecture and start for Paris at half-past three. 
They stop at Fontainebleau for a few hours' rest in 
the morning, and are received there by the Princess 
Mathilde, who embraces her new sister-in-law. 

At three o'clock they arrive in Paris, where they 
are met at the Lyons station by Marshal Magnan, 
General de Lowoestine, the prefect of the Seine, the 
prefect of police, the officers of the household of 
Prince Napoleon, and the members of the Sardinian 
legation. A regiment of the line is drawn up at 
the entrance of the station; a squadron of cuirassiers 
forms the escort. The streets through which the 
cortege is to pass are hung with French and Sardinian 
flags. The spouses and their suite get into court 
carriages. That occupied by the Prince and Prin- 
cess attracts all eyes. The General Prince de La 
Moskowa, aide-de-camp of the Emperor, rides beside 
the right-hand door, the commander of the escort of 



in 



THE PRINCESS CLOTILDE 25 

cuirassiers at the left. The procession passes through 
the rue de Lyon, the rue de Rivoli, Place Saint-Ger- 
main-l'Auxerrois, the court of the Louvre, and the 
Place of the Carrousel. The national guard and the 
light infantry of the imperial guard form the line 
from the entrance of the Louvre to the triumphal 
arch of the Carrousel ; the first regiment of cuiras- 
siers of the guard and a regiment of dragoons are in 
line of battle on this place. The line is bordered in 
the court of the Tuileries by a battalion of light 
infantry of the guard. 

The Emperor comes to the foot of the grand stair- 
case to receive Their Imperial Highnesses. The Em- 
press awaits them at the top. She embraces the 
Princess. The presentations then take place in the 
white salon, situated between the hall of the Mar- 
shals and that of Apollo. A few moments later, 
Their Highnesses go with the same cortege to the 
Palais-Royal. King Jerome, surrounded by the offi- 
cers of his household, receives the Princess as she 
leaves the carriage, and, after embracing her, leads 
her to the apartments she is to occupy. In the even- 
ing, the pair dine at the table of the former King of 
Westphalia. 

February 5. — Grand dinner at the Tuileries, in the 
hall of the Marshals, in honor of the bride. Among 
the guests of the Emperor and Empress are the 
princes and princesses of the Imperial family, the 
Princess Marie of Baden, the Duchess of Hamilton, 
the ministers and great dignitaries of State, the for- 



26 FRANCE AND ITALY 

eign ambassadors and ministers plenipotentiary and 
their wives, the entire Sardinian legation, the great 
oflBcers of the crown, and the principal officers of the 
households of Their Majesties and the princes. After 
dinner a play is performed in the gallery of Diana. 

The Princess Clotilde is at once appreciated at 
Court. In spite of her extreme simplicity she has a 
very noble bearing. Her reserve, her modesty and 
tact, gain the good opinion of all. At the time of her 
installation at the Palais-Royal, the sad associations 
which might make that residence a gloomy one are 
carefully avoided. Paris seems a magnificent city to 
the young Princess, and one enjoying extraordinary 
prosperity. It is still hoped that current differences 
may find a peaceful diplomatic solution. The Aus- 
trian ambassador, reflecting that the wife of Prince 
Napoleon is the daughter of an archduchess, shows 
her the greatest deference, and is present at all en- 
tertainments given in her honor. Speaking of the 
marriage so much commented on, Count de Buol 
assures Marquis de Banneville that for his part he 
is " not one of those who have found a hidden sig- 
nificance in it, the motives of this union having 
always appeared to him such as the Emperor Na- 
poleon states them, natural and suitable." 

Certain Viennese journals, notably the Presse, hav- 
ing reproduced some unseemly remarks concerning 
the marriage, attributing them to Piedmontese sources, 
what course is taken by the royal and imperial gov- 
ernment? It publishes in the official journal, the 



THE PBINCESS CLOTILBE 27 

Oorrespondance Autrichienne, an article whose result 
might be the suppression of the Presse, which had 
already received two warnings. Concerning this, the 
Marquis de Banneville writes to Count Walewski, 
February 2 : " Count Buol has told me that he merely 
acted in accordance with a due sense of propriety in 
instigating the suppression of such sallies ; and that 
without ascribing any merit to himself for an act of 
simple decorum, he at least wished to show his spon- 
taneous readiness to stigmatize and repress such un- 
namable attacks." The French government appre- 
ciates the kindly procedure of that of Austria, and 
expresses its gratitude. 

The Princess Clotilde will be always and every- 
where respected. During the eleven and a half years 
which she will spend in France, she will set there the 
example of all the virtues. At official festivities she 
will appear with the noble bearing of a woman born 
on the steps of the throne, but in the palace she will 
lead the austere life of the cloister. She will suffer 
without ever speaking of her sufferings; she will 
humbly offer them to God. ' Politicians of all parties 
will pay homage to this pious and charitable princess 
who will not be less honored in misfortune than in 
days of prosperity, and who, compelling the admira- 
tion of all by her resignation, tranquillity, and cour- 
age, will depart from France with as much dignity as 
she entered it. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE ANONYMOUS BEOCHUEB 

"TTICTOR EMMANUEL, after witnessing at Genoa 
^ the departure of his daughter for France, had 
gone back to Turin to assent to a project for borrow- 
ing fifty millions submitted to him by M. Lanza, his 
Minister of Finance. It was a veritable war loan, the 
intent of which nobody sought to disguise. The 
minister concluded his statement of its motives by 
these words : " You know that there are supreme 
moments in the life of peoples when sacrifice is a 
sacred duty, an inexorable necessity." Every one 
anxiously wondered what part Napoleon III. would 
play in the great crises which were in preparation. 

February 3, the very day of the Princess Clotilde's 
arrival in Paris, the Emperor announced to his 
amazed ministers the appearance of a brochure which 
would reflect his ideas upon the Italian question. 
Some hours later, this pamphlet was in the windows 
of all the bookshops. It contained sixty-four pages, 
and was unsigned. Its title was : The Emperor Na- 
poleon III. and Italy. 

In his Souvenirs du Second Empire., M. A. Granier 
de Cassagnac has said of the Emperor : " His throne 

28 



THE ANONYMOUS BBOCHURE 29 

turned his attention from his books ; but those who 
have read them know that neither France nor any- 
other country has ever had a sovereign fitted to reign 
by a higher intellectual cultivation. That is why he 
had so correct an idea of the action of the press on 
modern society, and why he was so anxious to direct 
that action. The Emperor, who was all his life a 
journalist, was very fond of the press. As a prisoner 
at Ham he practised journalism in the Progres du 
Pas-de- Calais ; he did the same at the Elys^e with 
M. de La Gu^ronnidre; at the Tuileries with M. 
Duvernois and M. Vitu ; from 1850 he did so every- 
where with me, even at Wilhelmshohe and at Cam- 
den Place, where, a few months before his death, he 
corrected the proofs of a brochure we wrote together, 
which was published by Amyot." 

The crowned journalist rated the press above 
diplomacy; he preferred a good article to a good 
despatch. Quite naturally, his ministers regarded 
his passion for publicity with disfavor, and were 
annoyed at finding themselves often less well in- 
formed concerning their master's intentions than cer- 
tain journalists. Napoleon III. sometimes governed 
against his own government. He had not said a 
single word to Count Walewski, his Minister of For- 
eign Affairs, concerning the brochure which he was 
preparing so mysteriously with the Viscount de La 
Gu^ronni^re, and which was, in fact, absolutely op- 
posed to the official policy pursued at the quai 
d'Orsay. 



30 FRANCE AND ITALY 

The anonymous author of the brochure, The Em- 
peror Napoleon III. and Italy ^ was a very charming 
man who united real talent as a writer to exquisite 
manners. A legitimist by origin, he had become the 
favorite disciple of M. de Lamartine, on whose style 
he modelled his own. In 1848 he was writing in the 
Pays newspaper, which supported the illustrious poet 
as a candidate for the presidency. In 1851 he pub- 
lished a series of Political Portraits^ among which 
figured those of the Count de Chambord and Louis 
Napoleon. This publication had a great success. 
The Prince-President was greatly struck by it and 
sought to win the author. Elected deputy from 
Cantal in 1852, La Gu^ronniere resigned his seat to 
enter the Council of State, and was publicly known to 
be the auxiliary and close confidant of the Emperor. 

The brochure inspired by the sovereign was an 
ardent and enthusiastic defence of the Italian cause. 
In a style truly Lamartinian, it said : " Italy is more 
than a sister to other nations, she is a mother. Her 
genius, her power, her institutions, conquests, mas- 
terpieces, and, later, her misfortunes, her ruins, her 
troubles, in a word, everything in ancient as in mod- 
ern times, her consuls, her tribunes, her historians, 
emperors, popes, and martyrs, have contributed to 
give her in some sort a generative character. In 
politics, in war, in civil and penal legislation, in the 
arts, in eloquence and poetry as in religion, she has 
been the common country of all civilized States. 
Hence, it may be said that her influence over the 



THE ANONYMOUS BROCHURE 31 

world has never ceased. After subduing she has 
enlightened it; when her material domination was 
overcome, her moral domination began. Forgetful- 
ness on the part of Europe would be ingratitude ; on 
that of Italy, self-abnegation. Can we demand this 
sacrifice from those to whom nothing remains of their 
past greatness but the pride of having justified it, and 
the hope of one day recovering some of its fragments? 
And if we should demand it from Italy, would she 
not have the right to answer us by this thought of 
Tacitus in the Life of Agrieola, ' We should have lost 
memory as well as speech could we forget as well as 
keep silence.' " 

In a masterly work entitled Napoleon III., His 
International Design, M. Emile OUivier has very 
judiciously remarked that a wrong has been done the 
second Emperor in isolating him from the general 
ideas amidst which his mind was formed, and of 
which he was later a reflection; he ought to have 
been connected with the movement of his times 
rather than considered as a solitary individuality 
deriving from himself alone. " Take the democratic 
theses," adds M. Ollivier, "as Lamennais, Armand 
Carrel, and finally Lamartine, our thinkers and popu- 
lar poets, have formulated them ; blend with these 
certain ideas of the great poet and thinker of Saint 
Helena; re-read the agitating speeches made by 
Thiers before 1848 in favor of Italy tinder the sword 
of Charles-Albert and the pastoral staff of Pius IX., 
and that of Cavaignac, May 23, 1849, calling on the 



82 FRANCE AND ITALY 

ministry to safeguard the independence and liberty 
of peoples. . . . Combine these writings, words, and 
actions, deduce a rule of conduct from them, and 
without losing yourself in conjectures, dissertations, 
bewilderments, you will have an accurate definition of 
the whole policy of Napoleon III. It may be summed 
up in a simple formula : that of nationalities." 

On the rock of Saint Helena, Napoleon had said : 
" The first sovereign who, in the midst of the great 
affray, will in good faith embrace the cause of 
peoples will find himself at the head of Europe, 
and he may venture whatever he chooses." This 
thought, inscribed in the Memoir, was evidently the 
inspiration of the brochure, The Emperor Napoleon 
III. and Italy. Its fundamental idea is that peoples 
have the right to dispose of their destiny. 

What the brochure recommended for Italy was 
not unity but a federal union with the Pope as presi- 
dent. "Instead of governing a stationary people, 
he extends his hand over all Italy to bless and 
lead it; he is the irresponsible and revered chief of 
a confederation of twenty-six millions of Christians 
who, classified in different States, tend towards one 
centre where the activity and greatness of Italy are 
recapitulated." 

Under a dispassionate form and conciliatory aspects, 
the brochure developed ideas that were in the most 
startling opposition to every tradition of ancient 
European diplomacy. It declared that " the abso- 
lutely clerical character of the government of the 



THE ANONYMOUS BBOCUUBE 33 

Roman States is a misconception, an active cause of 
discontent, and consequently an element of weakness 
for the Pope himself, and a permanent risk of revo- 
lution." Not contented with demanding reforms in 
the peninsula, it made a clean sweep of the treaties. 
"The treaties which unite governments," it said, 
" are the international laws of peoples, and could be 
invariable only if the world were stationary. If 
treaties which should protect the security of Europe 
endanger it, it is because they do not respond to the 
needs by which they were dictated. In that case 
political prudence counsels their substitution by some- 
thing else. A power which should intrench itself 
behind treaties to resist modifications universally 
demanded by public opinion, would doubtless have 
written law on its side, but against it would be 
arrayed the moral law and the conscience of the 
world." 

The brochure concluded as follows : " What is to 
be done, then? Shall appeal be made to force? 
May Providence shield us from such an extremity ! 
An appeal must be made to public opinion. . . . 
Without doubt, God would reserve to those who 
should bear the brunt of the struggle a noble share 
of human glory. We are not tempted by that glory ; 
we have had enough of it in days that are historic 
as well as in contemporary events to keep us from 
desiring more. Hence we ardently wish that diplo- 
macy may do before a battle what it would do the 
day after a victory. Let Europe unite energetically 



34 FBANCE AND ITALY 

in this cause of peace and justice ! It should be with 
us, because we shall always be with it in defence of 
its honor, equilibrium, and security." 

To sum up, the brochure was pacific in appearance, 
bellicose in reality. What it asked for, namely, the 
abolition of treaties and the enfranchisement of 
Milan and Venice, could not be obtained except by 
war. It recognized as much, for, after having 
enumerated the military forces of Austria and its 
formidable strategic positions in the north of Italy, 
it adds : " From these facts there results for every 
military man the incontestable truth that Italian 
nationality will never be the result of a revolution, 
and that it cannot succeed without foreign assist- 
ance." This foreign assistance was that of Napoleon 
III. and the French army. 

For the first time, a sovereign was seen to lay 
his personal programme before public opinion, and 
transform himself, so to say, into a journalist who 
publishes a notable article without signing it. 



CHAPTER V 

THE SPEECH FROM THE THRONE 

'AT'OWADAYS it would be difficult to form a just 
^ notion of the importance of the speeches from 
the throne under the Second Empire. Napoleon III. 
drew them up himself with the greatest care ; he cor- 
rected the proofs, and he delivered them in a strong 
and sonorous voice which made itself distinctly heard 
by all who were present. The Emperor had the privi- 
lege of power to raise or lower the funds in every 
exchange throughout the world by a single phrase, 
by a mere allusion. Telegraphed immediately to 
all civilized countries, the imperial harangues were 
everywhere the subject of innumerable commenta- 
ries. Each of their phrases received minute atten- 
tion, and contradictory conclusions were frequently 
deduced from them. 

Never had a throne speech been more impatiently 
awaited than that by which Napoleon III. was to 
open the session of the Senate and the Corps L^gis- 
latif, February 7, 1859. The brochure of Viscount 
de La Gu^ronniere had appeared three days earlier, 
and all were anxious to know whether the ideas 
formulated in it would be reproduced, wholly or in 
part, by the sovereign. The public were not of one 

35 



36 FBANCE AND ITALY 

mind on the subject. Some regarded it as a serious 
event, others as a simple feeler whose importance 
they sought to diminish. In the business world, as 
in that of diplomacy, there was uncertainty as to the 
real intentions of the Emperor, and it was hoped that 
the speech from the throne would dispel anxieties 
and put an end to equivocations. 

The ceremony took place in the new hall of the 
Louvre intended for the opening of the legislative 
sessions, and called the hall of the States. The 
throne was placed on a platform at the back of the 
hall. On the right of the throne was the tribune of 
the Empress. Half an hour before the Emperor's 
arrival, the great bodies of State, the deputations, and 
invited guests occupied the places reserved for them. 
On the steps of the throne, to right and left, were 
placed the cardinals, ministers, marshals and admi- 
rals, a deputation from the grand crosses of the 
Legion of Honor, and the members of the Council 
of State. Opposite the throne, on the right, the 
senators, on the left, the deputies. In the upper 
right-hand gallery were the members of the diplo- 
matic body and their wives. The corresponding 
gallery on the left was occupied by other ladies who 
had been invited. 

At one o'clock the Empress, preceded and followed 
by great officials, officials and ladies of her household, 
entered the hall to renewed shouts of " Long live the 
Empress ! " Her Majesty was accompanied by the 
Princess Clotilde, the Princess Mathilde, the Prin- 



THE SPEECH FROM THE THBONE 37 

cess-Duchess of Hamilton, the princesses Lucien, 
Joachim, and Anna Murat. 

As soon as the Empress had taken her place in 
her tribune, the cannon of the Invalides announced 
the Emperor's departure from the Tuileries. Pre- 
ceded and followed by great officers of his house- 
hold, the sovereign repaired to the session through 
the great picture gallery of the Louvre. He took his 
seat on the throne, with King Jerome on his right, 
and Prince Napoleon on his left. Then he delivered 
his speech in a firm and emphatic tone. The first 
part of it seemed very pacific. " One has a right to 
be surprised," he said, " by the excitement lately pro- 
duced when no imminent dangers were in sight, be- 
cause it shows at once too much distrust and too 
much alarm. On one hand, the moderation of 
which I have given so many proofs seems to have 
been doubted ; and on the other, the real power 
of France. Happily the mass of the people is far 
from experiencing such impressions." Next, the 
Emperor recalled the declaration of Bordeaux: 
" The Empire is peace,^^ meaning by that, he added, 
" that if the heir of the Emperor Napoleon remounted 
the throne, he would not renew an era of conquests, 
but inaugurate a system of peace which could be dis- 
turbed by nothing but the defence of great national 
interests." This last phrase began to disseminate 
anxiety. Would not Napoleon III. actually regard 
a war for Italy as the defence of great national inter- 
ests for France ? 



38 FRANCE AND ITALY 

The Emperor afterwards dilated on his disagree- 
ments with Austria concerning the Danubian Prin- 
cipalities, and added, apropos of this, that France 
was interested wherever there was question of mak- 
ing a just and civilizing cause prevail. In fact, he 
talked like a sibyl. When he said : " I shall remain 
immovable in the path of right, of justice, and of 
national honor, and my government will not permit 
itself either to be persuaded or intimidated, because 
my policy will never be either provocative or pusil- 
lanimous," no one knew whether the sovereign de- 
sired peace or war. 

While the Emperor was speaking, the attitude of 
his audience was a curious thing to see. Senators 
and deputies at first emphasized by their approba- 
tion all that seemed calculated to reassure and give 
pledges of peace ; then, when the imperial language 
became enigmatic and obscure, they abstained from 
all demonstration and gave none of the customary 
applause until the close of the discourse, which ter- 
minated as follows : " When, sustained by popular 
sentiment and desire, one ascends the steps of a 
throne, he rises, by the gravest of responsibilities, 
above that meanest of regions where vulgar interests 
are at war, and has for his initial motives as well 
as for his final judges, God, his conscience, and 
posterity." 

The discourse when read produced a more belli- 
cose impression than when listened to. In reading 
between the lines, in pondering the phrases on just 



THE SPEECH FROM THE THRONE 39 

and civilizing causes which must be made to prevail, 
on the abnormal situation of Italy, on the community 
of interests between Piedmont and France, perspi- 
cacious minds found the preliminary tokens of an 
approaching war in words apparently very moderate. 
This was the general impression at Turin, and Victor 
Emmanuel, like Count Cavour, found encourage- 
ment and a promise in the imperial speech. At 
Vienna, on the other hand, people gave, or pre- 
tended to give, a more pacific meaning to it. 

We read in the official organ, the Oorrespondance 
Autrichienne, February 8 : " The speech delivered by 
the Emperor Napoleon at the opening of the legisla- 
tive session, is calculated to dispel the fears of war 
which have lately been felt in Europe. . . . The Em- 
peror will appeal to the military forces of the nation 
he governs only in defence of the great national 
interests of the country, and as these great interests 
are not menaced from any quarter, nobody dreaming 
of endangering the position and authority of so great 
an empire as France, we believe that we have every 
reason to share the confidence of Europe ; peace will 
not be disturbed." 

February 11, the Marquis de Banneville wrote to 
Count Walewski : " As the chief interest of the 
speech of February 7 lay in the reference it would 
make to the state of the relations of France with 
Austria, it was awaited with more impatient anxiety 
at Vienna than elsewhere. The sensation has been 
profound. The authority and prestige of the Em- 



40 FRANCE AND ITALY 

peror's words have never produced a more powerful 
impression. But, as it was easy to foresee, the first 
effects were contradictory, and according to his per- 
sonal disposition each sought in it the confirmation 
of his fears or the justification of his hopes. ... As 
to the government, it has not hesitated to declare 
that it is satisfied, having interpreted the Emperor 
Napoleon's speech in a conciliatory sense. This 
declaration has reacted successfully against the con- 
trary impressions, and notably against those experi- 
enced at first by German diplomacy, always too much 
inclined to suspect France." 

The charge d'affaires, himself ardently desirous that 
peace should be maintained, added in the same de- 
spatch : " Count Buol has spoken to me about the 
speech with admiration, praising without reserve its 
elevation, cleverness, calmness, and candor. 'The 
Emperor Napoleon,' he said to me, ' in believing him- 
self obliged to remind France of his force and his 
moderation, has renewed to her his promise to per- 
severe in his firm but conciliatory policy. It now 
depends on Austria, at present prudent, moderate, 
conciliatory, to bind the Emperor to Europe by the 
same pledge.' " The Marquis de Banneville con- 
cluded thus, "I think people feel the necessity of 
all this here, and that they desire it." 

To sum up, the Austrian government, by indicating 
immediately through an official journal the impres- 
sion it had itself adopted, sought to banish apprehen- 
sion and direct public opinion. European diplomacy, 



THE SPEECH FROM THE THRONE 41 

about to undertake the work of maintaining treaties 
and preventing war, pretended to take the pacific 
words of Napoleon III. seriously, and to repeat with 
him : " Far from us be false alarms, unjust suspicions, 
selfish weaknesses ! Peace, we hope, will not be dis- 
turbed." The optimistic note remained dominant 
for some time longer. The Emperor took good 
care to conceal his ulterior designs, and prudently- 
avoided any too direct thrust at public opinion which, 
in France as elsewhere, Piedmont excepted, was 
strongly opposed to war. Hence it was possible for 
some weeks longer to believe that ideas of peace and 
conciliation would finally prevail. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE PARTISANS OF PEACE 

AT the beginning of the year 1859, I went almost 
-^--^ every evening to imperialist salons. There 
was a good deal of talk about foreign politics, and 
the conversations were interesting. I was able to 
ascertain how greatly peace was desired and how 
adversely warlike tendencies were criticised, not 
merely in the ministries, the embassies, at the presi- 
dency of the Senate and that of the Corps L^gislatif, 
but even at the Tuileries. With the exception of 
certain military men, eager for adventures and glory, 
advancement and decorations, I met nobody who 
avowed himself in favor of a war in co-operation 
with Italy. When the prefects came to Paris the 
ministers personally advised them not to conceal 
from the Emperor that their constituents earnestly 
wished for peace. In the official world this might 
have been called the order of the day. 

A few of the Emperor's closest intimates were 
the only ones who shared his longing for war, and 
they were extremely careful not to own it; for, if 
he drew the sword. Napoleon III. wished people to 
think his hand had been forced by Austria. His 

42 



THE PARTISANS OF PEACE 43 

entire policy had a tendency to so conduct matters 
that the Emperor Francis Joseph should appear 
to be the aggressor. Hence he avoided all that 
might be regarded as a provocation, and discour- 
aged none of those who pleaded with him the 
cause of peace. 

Nearly all the members of the Corps Legislatif 
said that, with the exception of a few advanced 
liberals and revolutionaries, their constituents pro- 
tested against warlike tendencies with the utmost 
energy. Nothing but the universal obsequiousness 
prevented the Chamber from displaying its senti- 
ments in a striking manner, and at the houses even 
of those who protested their devotion to the Emperor 
most noisily, one could already discern the germs of 
a secret opposition to the ideas of which the speech 
from the throne had been the first symptom. The 
deputies contrived a small manifestation, friendly 
enough, but significant. Called upon to appoint 
presidents and secretaries of boards, they did not 
select a single one of their colleagues who had either 
a military rank or a position at Court. 

Count de Morny, president of the Corps Legisla- 
tif, was one of the greatest advocates of peace. Nor 
did he conceal it in the speech he made at the 
opening of the session, February 8. When he said 
that " religion, philosophy, civilization, credit, in- 
dustry, have made peace the first essential of modern 
societies," his words called forth unanimous applause. 
" The blood of peoples," he added, " is no longer 



44 FRANCE AND ITALY 

shed lightly. War is the last resort of disregarded 
rights or offended honor. Most difficulties are 
smoothed away by diplomacy, or settled by friendly 
arbitration. Rapid international communications and 
publicity have created a new European power with 
which all governments are forced to reckon, and 
this power is public opinion. It may be uncertain 
or ignored for a moment, but in the end it ranges 
itself on the side of justice, right, and humanity." In 
speaking thus. Count de Morny expressed the senti- 
ments of the entire Chamber. 

In the business world, a similar disposition was 
everywhere manifested. Financiers, speculators, 
brokers, manufacturers, merchants, expressed the 
same views as the peasants, the farmers, and the 
city and country people. The wish for peace was 
universal. 

The journals, even those which professed the 
keenest sympathy with Piedmont and the greatest 
admiration for Count Cavour, declared against 
war. M. Eugene Forcade, who edited at the time 
the chronicle of the fortnight in the Revue des Deux 
Mondes, wrote in it March 31 : " War nowadays must 
seem an inevitable necessity in order to be accepted 
by the conscience of peoples. Nothing which the 
French public has been able to ascertain thus far 
gives this character of irresistible necessity to the 
war with which we are threatened. This war could 
only arise out of the Italian question. Possibly war 
may seem necessary to the Italians themselves, who 



THE PARTISANS OF PEACE 45 

are burning to free their country from all foreign 
domination. Personally, we feel a sincere sympathy 
for the Italian patriots, and we recognize their right 
to determine the moment when they should try to 
conquer their independence by a resort to arms, but 
on one condition, namely, that they alone shall be 
bound by their resolve, and that they shall recognize 
that Frenchmen have neither the same rights, the 
same duties, nor the same interests as Italians, when 
it is a question for them to decide whether there is 
any reason why they should co-operate in the inde- 
pendence of Italy by an immediate war." 

In 1852, at the time when Count Cavour had just 
been appointed Prime Minister by King Victor 
Emmanuel, M. Thiers, then in Piedmont, wrote : " I 
have seen a wise country, an excellent government, 
and an admirable army. Piedmont, if it continues 
to act well, and if France does not drag it along by 
plunging herself into a career of mad adventures, will 
some day become the foundation on which an Italy 
may be constructed; but that would require many 
years of peace and good behavior. War would ruin 
it." In 1859, such was still the opinion, not merely 
of M. Thiers, but of almost all French diplomatists. 

M. de Persigny, M. Drouyn de Lhuys, M. de 
Morny, were partisans, the first of the English alli- 
ance, the second of the Austrian, the third of the 
Russian; but on one point, namely, in their opposi- 
tion to the principle of nationalities, they were all 
of one mind. M. de Morny thought this principle 



46 FRANCE AND ITALY 

was chiefly supported by revolutionists, and he said, 
"Revolutionists are never very sure friends; they 
make use of the sympathies which they excite in 
order to attain their ends, but they have neither 
gratitude nor moderation." 

Count Walewski, Minister of Foreign Affairs in 
1859, belonged, like his predecessor, M. Drouyn de 
Lhuys, to the school of the past. Essentially a con- 
servative, a convinced defender of the temporal power 
of the Pope, a personal friend of the King of Naples 
and the Grand Duke of Tuscany, he considered 
treaties as a sacred ark, and always and everywhere 
showed his opposition to revolution. The French 
diplomatists nearly all shared the opinions of their 
chief. They regarded an auxiliary like Garibaldi as 
dangerous, and, in spite of the Memorial from Saint- 
Helena^ they were opposed to the system of great 
national agglomerations. To them, the unity of 
France was what constituted its strength, and it was 
not its interest to labor to give its neighbors a force 
of which it had the monopoly. They thought that 
France was great in proportion as its neighboring 
States were small, and consequently declared them- 
selves in favor of particularism in Germany as well 
as in Italy. Such were notably the opinions of the 
Due de Montebello, ambassador at Saint Petersburg, 
of the Due de Gramont, ambassador at Rome, of the 
Marquis de Moustier, the Prince de La Tour d'Au- 
vergne, the Marquis de Ferri^re le Vayer, one minis- 
ter of France at Berlin, the other at Turin, the third 



THE PABTI8AN8 OF PEACE 47 

at Florence. Hence the imperial diplomacy was in 
absolute opposition with the Emperor's programme. 
He knew it very well, and far from complaining 
of it, far from disavowing his agents, he maintained 
all of them at their posts and made use of them the 
better to conceal his ulterior designs and mental 
reservations. 

None the less, it was a curious spectacle to behold 
a sovereign conspire in his foreign policy, not merely 
against the Chambers, but against his ministers, 
diplomats, prefects, in a word, against his entire 
government. 

Had Napoleon III. at least the moral or material 
support of England to sustain him in his projects in 
favor of the Italian cause? Not at all. We are 
about to prove by means of incontestable documents 
that, far from favoring the programme of King Victor 
Emmanuel and Count Cavour, Queen Victoria and 
the British government declared themselves most 
energetically for the maintenance of treaties, and, 
consequently, for that of the Austrian domination at 
Milan and Venice. 



CHAPTER VII 

ENGLAND AND PIEDMONT 

TpEBRUARY 3, 1859, Queen Victoria opened the 
Parliament. "I receive from all the foreign 
powers," said she in her speech from the throne, 
" assurances of good and friendly sentiments. To 
cultivate and consolidate these sentiments, to main- 
tain intact the faith of public treaties, and to con- 
tribute as far as my influence may extend to the 
preservation of universal peace, such are the objects 
of my incessant solicitude." The speech was dis- 
cussed the same day by both Houses. The Tories, 
then at the head of affairs, Lord Derby being Prime 
Minister and Lord Malmesbury chief of the Foreign 
Office, were entirely of one mind with the Whigs on 
the Italian question. 

In the House of Lords the Prime Minister ex- 
pressed himself as follows : "Actuated by the most 
sincere friendship for Sardinia, we have, nevertheless, 
been made uneasy by the attitude which for some 
time past she seems disposed to take. This attitude 
is wholly opposed to her own interests, to her duties 
towards European society, and to the duration of the 
sympathy which her previous conduct had acquired 

48 



ENGLAND AND PIEDMONT 49 

for her in the civilized world. . . . The remarks 
made by King Victor Emmanuel at the opening of 
the Chambers were very ominous; but I am sure 
that Sardinia will follow better counsels." 

Lord Granville, the Whig leader, declared that in 
virtue of treaties, Austria possessed rights over her 
Italian provinces of which no one could despoil her 
by any right or under any pretext, and he added that 
the Italians must forget the lessons of history if they 
supposed Italy could be delivered by calling on one 
foreign nation to expel another. 

Lord Brougham said that having recently arrived 
from France, he was able to affirm that in all ranks 
and classes of society public opinion was unanimously 
opposed to war. " Everything inclines me to be- 
lieve," he added, " that France will take no share in 
the Sardinian Speculation, as it is called, and that 
this speculation will fail completely." 

In the House of Lords all the speakers expressed 
themselves like those of the House of Commons, in 
favor of peace and absolute respect for treaties. 
Even Lord Palmerston, who, in 1847, had sent Lord 
Minto to the peninsula to encourage to the utmost 
the boldest aspirations of Charles-Albert, and who 
wrote, October 29, 1848, to the English ambassador 
at Vienna " that there was not the slightest chance 
of Austria's being able to retain upper Italy in a use- 
ful and permanent manner, since all its inhabitants 
were profoundly imbued with an invincible hatred 
against the Austrian army," now made no further 



50 FRANCE AND ITALY 

objection to Austrian domination in Venetia and 
Lombardy. " The treaties must be respected," said 
he. "If the stipulations of a treaty might be set 
aside in the name of some theoretic preference, all the 
affairs of Europe might go to rack and ruin, and no 
one could predict the possible consequences of such 
a principle." 

It had been announced that Lord John Russell 
would champion the cause of Italian nationality in 
Parliament. He did nothing of the sort. " I have 
always," said the Liberal orator, "had a profound 
sympathy for the independence and liberty of Italy, 
but I find it impossible to believe that this cause 
could ever be served by such a war as that with 
which we are menaced. . . . The treaty which 
gives Venetia and Lombardy to Austria is part of 
the public law, and nobody could dream of disturb- 
ing this territorial arrangement by force without 
committing an offence against Europe." 

Finally, Mr. Disraeli said : " I cannot believe that 
a ruler so prudent as the Emperor of the French is 
going out of pure good-will to disturb the peace of 
the world and destroy forever the confidence he has 
so justly inspired in Europe by the thorough wisdom 
and moderation of his previous conduct." 

The Court was not less uneasy than the ministers 
and the Parliament. Prince Albert, always a German 
at heart, shared, like his uncle the King of the Belgians, 
all the suspicions of Germany concerning Napoleon 
III., and was convinced that a war in Italy would 



ENGLAND AND PIEDMONT 51 

be the prelude to a war on the Rhine. He believed 
that Belgium was threatened, and that the Emperor 
wished to restore her natural frontiers to France. 
In this respect, Queen Victoria shared the apprehen- 
sions of her husband. She thought it necessary to 
intervene personally in the question, and on Febru- 
ary 4 she wrote a letter to Napoleon III. which was 
simply an ardent plea in favor of peace. " Seldom," 
said the Queen, " has it been given a man to exercise 
a personal influence so powerful as that of Your 
Majesty over the tranquillity and well-being of 
Europe." In conclusion, the Queen explicitly in- 
formed the Emperor that if he entered into a 
warlike career, it would be utterly impossible for 
England to associate itself with him in such a policy. 

February 14, Napoleon III. replied at length to 
Her British Majesty's letter. He attempted to vindi- 
cate himself from the accusations brought against 
him, and maintained that he had made no prepara- 
tions for war. He admitted that treaties could not 
be altered but by general consent, but he added 
this significant remark : " However, treaties could 
not militate against my duty, which is to pursue 
everywhere the policy most in harmony with the 
honor and interests of my country." The only 
result of this reply was to increase the anxieties felt 
by Queen Victoria, her husband, and her government. 
It was all over with the cordial alliance. 

The cabinet of London gave a further proof of its 
pacific sentiments by sending Lord Cowley, English 



52 FRANCE AND ITALY 

ambassador at Paris, to Vienna with an official com- 
mission to establish there, if possible, the bases of an 
agreement between France and Austria. This diplo- 
mat reached Vienna February 7, and was most 
cordially received by the Emperor Francis Joseph. 
He declared in favor of the evacuation of the Roman 
States by the Austrian troops as well as by the 
French, and asked for the concession of reforms in 
Italy, but he did not say a single word about Milan 
and Venice, where it seemed to him that the rights 
of Austria should be considered inviolable. England 
not merely did not encourage the designs of Victor 
Emmanuel, but it asked him to lay down his arms. 
Lord Cowley left Vienna March 10. Before going 
he gave an account of his mission in a despatch ad- 
dressed to Lord Malmesbury, in which he expressed 
the hope that he had arranged a peaceful solution of 
the difference. It concluded thus : " As long as 
Piedmont is allowed to remain under arms, I doubt 
Austria's willingness to enter into negotiations, 
because she considers the Piedmontese army as the 
vanguard of that of France, intended to give the 
latter time to arm itself, and she will have no con- 
fidence in the pacific intentions of her neighbors so 
long as this vanguard remains. Hence, in the 
Austrian view, the disarmament of Piedmont is the 
pledge of the sincerity of France." 

To sum up, the chief aim of English diplomacy 
was the absolute maintenance of the territorial status 
quo in Italy. If Lord Cowley had succeeded in his 



ENGLAND AND PIEDMONT 53 

mission, the whole scaffolding of the plans of Victor 
Emmanuel and Count Cavour would have tumbled 
like a house of cards. In spite of his pro-English 
sympathies, the Piedmontese statesman was perfectly- 
aware that he had nothing to expect from England, 
and that apart from the armed concurrence of France 
the policy of nationalities in Italy had not the 
slightest chance of success. The Italians should be 
loyal enough to recognize this at present. But for 
Napoleon III., Milan and Venice would still be 
under Austrian domination. 



CHAPTER VIII 

PRUSSIA AND THE GERMANIC CONFEDERATION 

TDIEDMONT had nothing to hope from England. 
As to Prussia and the Germanic Confederation, 
the most it could expect was that they should not 
take up arms against it. All the suspicion, rancor, 
wrath, of 1813 had just revived against imperial 
France. In Germany everybody was saying that all 
that Napoleon III. began war in Italy for was to end 
it on the banks of the Rhine, and that the only object 
of his policy was to reconquer what, in his view, con- 
stituted the natural frontiers of his empire. His 
efforts to dispel such alarms were multiplied in vain. 
He did not succeed in this, even by making himself 
the precursor and champion of Germanic unity. 

The brochure The Emperor Napoleon III. and Italy 
contained some very curious passages. For instance: 
" The Germanic Confederation has not obtained a 
single one of the guarantees of unity and freedom of 
action which it sought ; subjected to the influence of 
two great powers, it possibly has no hope but in their 
necessary rivalry. . . . Prussia, which tends to be- 
come the head of the Germanic body, has an immense 
interest in curbing Austria. In becoming her ally 

54 



PBUSSIA AND GERMANIC CONFEDERATION 55 

she would make herself an accomplice in her own 
abasement, and thus disavow the work of Frederic 
the Great. . . . The solution of the Italian question, 
were that possible, would be a new strength for the 
German nationality. . . . Germany has nothing to 
fear from us on the banks of the Rhine." 

It was not only in the celebrated brochure, but in 
the Moniteur that the sovereign sought to reassure 
the Germans. The official journal thus expressed 
itself, March 15: "A part of Germany responds to 
the tranquil attitude of the French government by 
the most groundless alarms. On a mere presumption 
which nothing justifies and everything repels, preju- 
dices rekindle, suspicions spread, passions are un- 
leashed, a sort of crusade against France is begun in 
the Chambers and the press of several States of the 
Confederation. She is accused of entertaining ambi- 
tions she has disavowed, of making ready for con- 
quests which she does not need, and by these calumnies 
it is sought to alarm Europe, concerning imaginary 
aggressions of which she does not even think. Men 
who mislead German patriotism in this fashion are 
behind their time. Of such as they it may well be 
said that they have forgotten nothing and learned 
nothing. They went to sleep in 1813, and they wake 
up after a slumber of half a century, with sentiments 
and passions which history has buried, and which 
are utterly absurd in relation to modern times; 
they are visionaries who are absolutely bent upon 
defending what no one dreams of attacking." 



56 FRANCE AND ITALY 

The article in the Moniteur terminated with this 
justification of Napoleon III.: "The Emperor, who 
has been able to overcome all prejudices, probably 
expects that they will be rekindled against him. 
What would have happened if, in ascending the 
throne, he had taken thither the narrow sentiments 
and revengeful feelings now attributed to him by 
those who seek to make him suspected? Instead of 
becoming the closest ally of England, and thus obey- 
ing the interests of civilization, he would have become 
its rival, as the ancient rivalries of the two peoples 
might seem to have required. Instead of welcoming 
men of all parties, he would have mistrusted and 
repelled adherents of the elder dynasties. Instead 
of reassuring and calming Europe, he would have 
disturbed it by atoning for the memories of 1814 
and 1815 at the cost of its security and indepen- 
dence. " 

The Moniteur was preaching in the desert. The 
Germans would not allow themselves to be convinced. 
It is curious to note that in 1859 the only German 
who shared the views of Napoleon III. was possibly 
Herr Bismarck. If the celebrated Prussian states- 
man had been at the head of affairs, he would proba- 
bly have concluded arrangements with the Emperor 
by which Piedmont and Prussia would have simul- 
taneously aggrandized themselves at the expense of 
Austria. During a visit he made to Paris in Sep- 
tember, 1855, at the time of the universal Exposition, 
he had been presented to Napoleon III. and most 



PRUSSIA AND GERMANIC CONFEDERATION 57 

cordially received. In April, 1857, he was sent on 
a mission to Paris to assist the Prussian minister in 
the conferences just opened concerning the Neuch^tel 
affair, and it was due to the Emperor's efforts that 
King Frederic William IV. was enabled to settle 
his difference with Switzerland honorably and with- 
out resort to arms. 

Napoleon III. had a special liking for Bismarck. 
He believed in the star of the Prussian statesman, and 
fancied that he might find in him an auxiliary who 
would aid him to destroy the treaties of 1815, to 
complete the enfranchisement of Italy, and to estab- 
lish the principle of nationalities. On his part, Herr 
Bismarck, at the beginning of the Second Empire, 
professed a great admiration for Napoleon III. In 
a memoir intended for Frederic William IV., and 
dated June 2, 1857, he undertook to combat one by 
one the prejudices entertained by that prince against 
a close union with imperial France. He said in it : 
"The Napoleonic dynasty is reproached with its 
illegitimate origin ; but the majority of thrones are 
not more legitimate : a fact which does not prevent 
the Court of Prussia from contracting political or 
family alliances with these dynasties. . . . Louis 
Napoleon did not arrive at the throne by means of 
an insurrection against the established authorities, 
and should he resign his power to-day, he would 
probably embarrass Europe, which would entreat him 
to retain it. And since Prussia has recognized the 
Emperor Napoleon, how could it be contrary to its 



58 FRANCE AND ITALY 

honor to contract engagements with him which would 
command events ? " 

In 1859, Herr Bismarck, who then bore the title 
of Count, was at Frankfort, where he had represented 
Prussia since 1854 as its minister to the Germanic 
Confederation. There he opposed the influence of 
Austria, tlie rival power, with all the vehemence and 
obstinacy of his character. Had his government lis- 
tened to him then, we believe that Prussia would not 
have hesitated to overthrow the old fedei'al edifice, and 
to conclude an alliance of ambition with Napoleon III. 

Since October 9, 1858, King Frederic William IV., 
on account of the poor condition of his health, had con- 
fided the regency to his brother, the future Emperor 
of Germany. The Prince Regent cherished very vast 
designs but did not as yet avow them, and none but 
his intimate friends knew how he brooded over the 
dream of expelling the Hapsburgs from Germany in 
order to install the Hohenzollerns in their place. But 
this audacious policy was still in a state of latency, 
and at that time the Prince did not think of embroil- 
ing himself with Austria, still less of contracting an 
alliance with Piedmont. He considered that Count 
Bismarck was going too fast, and changed his post 
from Frankfort to Saint Petersburg, February 29, 
1859. The Prussian diplomat had desired to continue 
his opposition to Austria in the German Diet. He left 
Frankfort with regret, and not without criticising ad- 
versely the hostility displayed by the Confederation 
to the policy of Victor Emmanuel and Napoleon III. 



PBUSSIA AND GERMANIC CONFEDEBATION 59 

February 5, Count Buol, Austrian Minister of For- 
eign Affairs, had addressed a circular to the Austrian 
agents accredited to German Courts, in which he 
expressed the satisfaction experienced by the cabinet 
of Vienna in consequence of the friendly manifesta- 
tions which its cause had excited in Germany. It 
was especially in the south, at Munich, Stuttgart, 
Darmstadt, and Carlsruhe, that the Austrian Court 
had been encouraged to resort to violent measures 
against Piedmont. 

The Emperor Francis Joseph sent as his envoy to 
the Prince Regent of Prussia the Archduke Albert, 
son of the Archduke Charles, the celebrated rival of 
Napoleon. The Archduke Albert arrived at Berlin 
April 14, and announced that at the earliest possible 
moment Austria would send an ultimatum to the 
Court of Turin, the rejection of which would at once 
entail the occupation of Piedmontese territory by the 
imperial troops. Austria was then under very grave 
illusions. Considering the war of Italy a secondary 
matter, she was chiefly occupied with the war on the 
Rhine which seemed to her inevitable, and the brunt 
of which she proposed to bear with two hundred and 
sixty thousand men. This army would have been 
placed under the command of the Archduke Albert, 
simultaneously invested with the command of several 
federal corps in the south. 

In face of the possible complications which might 
be entailed by the outbreak of war, M. d'Usedon, who 
had succeeded Count Bismarck as Prussian minister 



60 FRANCE AND ITALY 

at Frankfort, laid the following motion, April 23, 
before the Diet : " The Diet resolves that it will 
invite the Confederated States to put their prin- 
cipal contingents in marching order ; it enjoins the 
necessary measures for the arming of the federal for- 
tresses." In support of this motion the cabinet of 
Berlin declared to its confederates that it believed 
it urgent to give Germany a defensive organization 
in harmony with the military dispositions taken by 
neighboring States. 

The Austrian government rejoiced in all these 
demonstrations. Count Buol said to Lord Loftus, 
English ambassador at Vienna: "If the Emperor 
wanted to feel the pulse of the German nation, it has 
given him a salutary warning." 

So then, in order to defend the Italian cause. Napo- 
leon had not merely to fight with Austria. He ran 
the risk of finding all Germany combined against 
him, without having the least assurance that it would 
be restrained by Russia. Seldom has any sovereign 
incurred risks so great and embarked in so dangerous 
an enterprise. 



CHAPTER IX 

RUSSIA 

^T^HE war of Italy was possible only because the 
relations of Napoleon III. with Alexander were 
very cordial in 1869. Had they been as cold at 
that period as they were in 1870, France would not 
have dared to incur the risk of meeting the ill-will of 
Russia as well as the declared hostility of Austria 
and all Germany. 

At the beginning of 1859, the two sovereigns mu- 
tually displayed a very lively sympathy. The Mar- 
quis de Chateaurenard, charge d'affaires of France at 
Saint Petersburg in the absence of the ambassador, 
the Due de Montebello, wrote to Count Walewski, 
January 13 : — 

" The Emperor held a diplomatic reunion on the 
occasion of the new year. His Majesty honored me 
with a particularly cordial reception, and said to me : 
' Each day brings me additional proof of the confi- 
dence which presides over the relations between 
the Emperor Napoleon's government and mine, and 
of the friendly sentiments which animate France in 
reference to Russia. There is more than confidence 
between the two Courts, there is the most intimate 
cordiality, and I am very glad of it. I wish the Em- 

61 



62 FRANCE AND ITALY 

peror Napoleon to know tliat he may count on me as 
I do upon him. Be so kind as to convey to him this 
assurance.' I cannot too greatly insist, Monsieur le 
Comte, on the accent of profound conviction with 
which the language of His Majesty was impressed. 
The bystanders could not hear the words addressed 
to me, but they all noticed the air of satisfaction 
and sympathy with which the Emperor approached 
the charge d'affaires of France." 

In the mind of Napoleon III, the chief object of the 
Stuttgart interview had been to insure the moral 
support of Russia, if not its armed assistance, in the 
event of a war against Austria. Had Alexander II. 
condemned this war, it is indisputable that the dif- 
ferent German States would have risen as one man 
to prevent it, and that Sardinia, with all the great 
powers against her except France, would have found 
it very difficult to continue the policy of defiance 
against her redoubtable neighbor. But the attitude 
of ^the cabinet of Saint Petersburg allayed the Ger- 
manic effervescence and permitted Napoleon III. to 
carry out his plans. 

The Marquis de Chateaurenard wrote to Count 
Walewski, January 24 : " Prince Gortchakoff told 
Sir John Crampton, the English minister, that Russia 
doubtless desired the maintenance of peace as much 
as any other power, but that she would not interfere 
in the course of events which may occur, even if they 
were such as might lead to war. She would con- 
fine herself to a policy of expectancy which, she 



BUSSIA 63 

believed, became her better than any other for the 
present. These words seem to me to express with 
fidelity the mind of the Russian government. The re- 
sentment inspired by the conduct of Austria during 
the Crimean War is as acute as ever it was, although 
it no longer translates itself on every occasion by the 
most violent language ; it suffices to explain that 
the cabinet of Saint Petersburg, agreeing herein with 
the unanimous sentiments of the army and the coun- 
try, is unwilling to lend its good offices to assist in de- 
fending a situation which the press signalizes as likely 
to create serious dangers for a power which is re- 
garded here as guilty of treason and ingratitude 
towards Russia." 

Alexander II. had not consented to peace with the 
Western powers until after the Austrian ultimatum, 
and he was convinced that it was the Emperor Fran- 
cis Joseph — saved in 1849 by the Emperor Nicholas, 
at the time of the Hungarian insurrection — who 
had prevented the testament of Peter the Great from 
being carried out. Let us add that since the treaty 
of Paris Russian policy and Austrian policy had been 
continually at war in the Balkan peninsula. That is 
why the Czar wanted to give a lesson to Austria, and 
why the embarrassment into which that power might 
be plunged gave such lively satisfaction to all classes 
of Russian society. The war of Italy was, in fact, 
a consequence of the Crimean War. Without being 
obliged to draw the sword, Russia was about to take 
her revenge on Austria. 



64 FRANCE AND ITALY 

Sir John Crampton, the English minister, solicited 
peace in vain, Prince Gortchakoff greeting each new 
representation with mingled pride and bitterness. 
True, he would express some faint desire for peace, 
but he always took care to add: "As to weighing 
France and Austria in the same scales, we will not 
do it. Our relations with France are cordial, with 
Austria they are not so, nor are they tending to 
grow better. Russia was formerly in the habit of 
offering her friendly advice to the European cabi- 
nets. In following that policy she has been the 
dupe of her own disinterestedness. At present we 
have no advice to give. Our solicitude is directed 
just now to our internal improvements to the ex- 
clusion of everything else, and that anxiety is great 
enough to absorb our attention. However, it does 
not do so to such an extent that we are willing to 
promise neutrality. We do not say we will keep 
out of the fight. We reserve our liberty of action 
in the future as well as in the present." (Despatch 
of Sir John Crampton to Lord Malmesbury, January 
26, 1859.) 

M. de La Gorce was right in saying : " The Czar's 
complaisance was the source from which Napoleon 
III. obtained the boldness to dare everything." The 
support given by Russia to France was, however, 
very limited. It was Platonic in its character, for 
the government of the Czar confined itself to advis- 
ing Germany to be prudent, and had not the least 
intention of making war against her in case this 



^ 'M^ 




MARSHAL MACMAHON 



EUSSIA 65 

advice were not accepted. In a despatch addressed 
to Count Walewski, February 4, the Marquis de Cha- 
teaurenard expressed himself as follows : " Prince 
Gortchakoff has told me that in speaking with the 
minister of Prussia he had especially insisted on 
the point that the cabinet of Berlin would effica- 
ciously contribute to the peaceful solution of the 
existing situation by firmly declaring its intention 
to abstain from taking part in a dispute which had 
no direct bearing on the interests of Prussia. ' By 
so doing,' said the Prince, ' I thought I could comply 
with the request of the Ernperor Napoleon's govern- 
ment that I should assist him in enlightening public 
opinion in Germany on the principles by which his 
policy is directed ; you may assure Count Walewski 
that I will do what lies in my power to meet his 
wishes on this subject.' " 

On the other hand, in spite of his ill-will towards 
Austria, Alexander II. had no desire whatever for 
the unification of Italy under the sceptre of Victor 
Emmanuel, although such a combination entailed no 
danger to an empire so vast and so remote as that 
of the Czars. But the essentially conservative ideas 
of the Russian government, its respect for the trea= 
ties of 1815, its dread of the triumph in Italy of 
revolutionary principles which might have their re- 
bound in Poland, rendered it naturally hostile to the 
intrigues of the Mazzinians and of Garibaldi. Let 
us add that Alexander II., like his father, always 
showed an especial sympathy for the King of Naples 



66 FRANCE AND ITALY 

who had resisted the revolution so energetically, and 
whose reactionary system pleased the cabinet of Saint 
Petersburg. But in 1859 the government of the 
Czar fancied that territorial changes would be con- 
fined to the north of Italy, and that in any case the 
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies could not incur any 
danger. 

The ideas of Russia were in flat contradiction with 
those of the partisans of Italian unity, and, to reca- 
pitulate, all that was needful to make the war of 
Italy materially impossible would have been for 
Alexander II. privately to encourage Prussia to de- 
fend Austria. We shall see later on that the cabinets 
of Berlin and Saint Petersburg remained on good 
terms with each other, and that at the time when the 
German Confederation seemed determined to march 
to the assistance of Austria, after the battle of Sol- 
ferino, Alexander II. did not disguise from Napoleon 
III. that he would not take up arms to support him. 

Nor should it be forgotten that before the war the 
power that proposed a conference in the hope of 
arriving at a peaceful solution, was Russia. For 
the present we will not consider further the efforts 
she made in this direction, but turn our attention to 
the situation in Paris during the three months that 
elapsed before the breaking out of hostilities. 



CHAPTER X 

THE CAENIVAL 

XT was not politics but pleasure that was tlie 
great affair in Paris during the carnival of 1859. 
Never were salons more brilliant nor entertainments 
more numerous and splendid. The chronicler of the 
Illustration wrote on February 12 : " God be praised ! 
A beam from on high has dispelled the last clouds 
which weighed upon the situation. It seemed like a 
north wind, hut now it is only a zephyr. The carnival 
which is beginning already seems like one that is 
ending. It is a week full of bustle, lights, and en- 
chantments ; nobody walks nowadays except in 
cadence between flowery thickets and diamond 
necklaces." On the 19th, M. Busoni added: "So 
then, in spite of the alarmists, there will be a real 
carnival in Paris. People are abandoning the war, 
or rather the phantasmagoria of one, to the conjec- 
tures of the idle and to some belated journalists. . . . 
The situation of Italy, the obduracy of Austria in 
its regard, the great powers in alarm and even in 
arms, must all be provisionally forgotten. Here are 
memorable fetes and dazzling spectacles. Beauty 
keeps vigil six nights in the week and does not sleep 
on Sundays." 

67 



68 FRANCE AND ITALY 

The official world, the aristocratic society of the 
faubourg Saint-Germain, and the moneyed society of 
the Chauss^e-d'Antin vie with each other in luxury 
and elegance. Soirdes and balls go on with untiring 
emulation. Fashionable men and women seem to 
have the gift of ubiquity. Some of them make their 
appearance at the theatre and at three or four salons 
during the same evening. 

Everybody is tranquil. Pius IX. is under a 
benevolent illusion, and fancies that his temporal 
power may be preserved without recourse to either 
French or Austrian troops. The Due de Gramont, 
ambassador of France at Rome, writes to Count 
Walewski, February 12 : " That passage of the 
Emperor's speech which relates to Italy has given 
rise on the part of Cardinal Antonelli, and even of 
His Holiness, to certain observations which display 
greater clearness and precision than I have met before 
in the language of the Secretary of State. The Pope, 
says His Eminence, had regretted to see His Majesty 
declare that order could not be maintained in the Ro- 
man States except by foreign troops, and that his gov- 
ernment, by that very fact, constituted a permanent 
source of anxiety for diplomacy. . . . The Pope has, 
at present, sixteen thousand six hundred men under 
his standards, and within a few weeks the figures 
will be seventeen thousand, a number deemed suffi- 
cient for internal service and the security of the 
Pontifical States. ... So far as the Pope is con- 
cerned, he is quite willing to allay the uneasiness for 



THE CARNIVAL 69 



which he is held responsible, and if, as is said, the 
occupation of his States by foreign troops is an 
obstacle to the repose of Italy and the peace of the 
world, he is ready to come to an arrangement with 
France and Austria for their simultaneous evacua- 
tion of his territory." 

February 22, the Due de Gramont sent the follow- 
ing telegraphic despatch to Count Walewski : " Car- 
dinal Antonelli, by order of His Holiness, has to-day 
made a demand of the ambassadors of France and 
Austria for the evacuation of the Pontifical States 
by the armies of occupation within a very near fixed 
time. The Pope having been apprised by General 
de Goyon of the speedy arrival of nine hundred and 
seventy soldiers, has requested me to ask by tele- 
graph, that they shall not be sent." 

The Holy Father had reckoned without the machi- 
nations and the incessant propaganda of the Sar- 
dinian government. In a memorandum addressed to 
England, March 1, M. Cavour recapitulates the 
grievances of the Italian peoples and the remedies 
which he considers necessary. In his view, these 
remedies are an autonomous government for Lom- 
bardy, Venetia, and the Pontifical provinces east 
of the Apennines; a large regime of administrative 
reforms throughout central Italy; and finally the 
cancelling of the military conventions of Austria 
with the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and the duchies 
of Parma and Modena. Evidently Count Cavour 
had enlarged his programme so as to shut the door 



70 FRANCE AND ITALY 

against every policy of conciliation. From one end 
of the kingdom to the other the journals spoke of 
war as if it had already been declared. A law was 
passed to increase the regimental staffs of the 
national guard. Committees were formed for re- 
cruiting and arming volunteers. Napoleon III. 
was still unwilling that people should be alarmed. 
He thought the time had come to reassure the 
public. 

The Moniteur of March 5 published a long note, in 
which it said : " The Emperor has nothing to conceal 
or disavow, either in his preoccupations or his alli- 
ances. French interests predominate in his policy 
and they justify his vigilance. In face of the anxie- 
ties, ill founded as we like to believe, by which people 
have been disturbed in Piedmont, the Emperor has 
promised the King of Sardinia to defend him against 
any aggressive act on the part of Austria ; he has 
promised nothing more, and people know that he will 
keep his word. Is there any hint of war in that? 
Since when has it become contrary to prudence to 
foresee more or less proximate difficulties and to cal- 
culate all their consequences ? We have just pointed 
out what there is of reality in the thoughts, duties, 
and disposition of the Emperor ; all that has been 
added to this by the exaggerations of the press is 
pure imagination, falsehood, and frenzy. They say 
that France has made considerable preparations for 
war. That is a purely gratuitous accusation. . . . 
Is it not time to inquire when an end will be put to 



THE CARNIVAL 71 



these vague and absurd rumors, spread from one end 
of Europe to the other by the press, and everywhere 
pointing out the Emperor of the French to public 
credulity as inciting to war, and throwing upon him 
the sole responsibility for the disquietudes and the 
warlike preparations of Europe ? Who has the right 
to mislead public opinion so outrageously, to alarm 
vested interests so gratuitously?" 

The conclusion of the Moniteur^s note reads thus : 
" To study questions is not to create them ; nor will 
turning attention from them be to summarize or 
settle them. For ^at matter, the examination of 
these questions has passed into the region of diplo- 
macy, and no one is authorized to believe that the 
result will be unfavorable to the consolidation of the 
public peace." 

The note of March 5 reassured the alarmists. At 
the Bourse stocks rose in a way to which people were 
no longer accustomed. 

March 7, the Emperor transmits a decree by which 
Prince Napoleon is relieved of his ministerial func- 
tions. The Prince turns over to M. Rouher his 
portfolio of the ministry of Algeria and the Colonies. 
The advocates of peace consider this demission as a 
disgrace and rejoice over it, for by his marriage as 
well as by his personal sentiments the Prince passes 
as the chief supporter of the Italian cause near the 
Emperor. 

The carnival is about to close in the most brilliant 
fashion. All Paris seems to be exclaiming : " Time 



72 FRANCE AND ITALY 

enough to-morrow for serious matters ! All parties 
and all classes amuse themselves." Listen once more 
to the chronicler whom we have already cited : " The 
violins make more noise than politics ; it is only fair 
to say so, and the programme of Strauss or of Pilado 
is more successful than that of diplomacy. The 
carnival scatters fire and flames : balls, banquets, 
masquerades, — one escapes from one enchantment 
only to fall into a hundred others. . . . This carni- 
val has miraculous effects ; it throws politics into 
oblivion and imposes silence upon it, however little 
part it seeks to take in conversa^on. Shall we have 
war? The care of replying to this question is left 
to the grave newsmongers who are reduced to put- 
ting it for their own pleasure." 

The tremblers, the mar-sports, meet a poor recep- 
tion. If war must come, let it come ! No French- 
man will be afraid of it. But let the orchestras keep 
up their joyous noise while we are waiting for that 
of bombs and cannon balls. Perhaps people are 
dancing over a volcano! What of it? provided 
they keep on dancing. Private persons, ministers, 
the Emperor himself, rush into the fashionable whirl. 
The balls given by the Baroness de Pontalba, the 
Duchess d'lstria, the Marchiones de Pommereu, 
the Duchess de Riario-Sforza, sister of M. Berryer, 
the Countess Duch^tel, the Countess Lehon, the 
Duchess d'Uz^s, are superb. But nothing can equal 
the grand official fetes. The government says the 
last word in matters of luxury, splendor, and mag- 



THE CARNIVAL 73 



niiicence. The ministries are palaces. The Tuileiies * 

appears in the glow of an apotheosis. 

Napoleon loves pomp and considers it necessary to , 

the prestige of a sovereign. He is unwilling that / 

any court in Europe should be more brilliant than (i 

his own. 



CHAPTER XI 

LENT 

TDARIS is quite as lively in Lent as during the 
carnival. Political preoccupations do not in- 
terfere with the theatres nor with mundane vanities. 
There is no dancing in official circles, but there are 
balls in many salons. The aristocratic routs of the 
faubourg Saint-Germain are numerous and brilliant. 
At the Tuileries there are receptions and concerts. 
Diplomatic affairs, warmly discussed on 'Change, 
create movements in stocks which excite the gam- 
blers. Large sums are gained and lost, but the 
market is full of animation. Well-to-do persons 
who are not fond of war resign their places to others, 
and people say that should war break out it would 
not interfere with civil careers. The number of 
riders, men and women, and of elegant carriages that 
go round the lake at the Bois de Boulogne daily is 
not diminished. The toilettes are as costly, the equi- 
pages as fine, the theatres as well filled, and the 
evening parties as frequented. Paris has not lost 
a jot of its brilliance and gaiety. 

Count Walewski at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 
and Count de Morny at the Presidency of the Corps 

74 



LENT 75 

L^gislatif, resume their Wednesday evening recep- 
tions on March 16. These are very elegant reunions 
where certain Legitimists and Orleanists, personal 
friends of the two statesmen, both very much in 
vogue, occasionally show themselves. During his 
embassy in Russia Count de Morny had noticed 
among the demoiselles of honor of the Empress, 
Mile. Sophie, Princess Troubetzkoy, a descendant of 
one of the companions of Rurik. He fell in love 
with and married her, and on her arrival in Paris 
she excited universal attention. Fair, with dark 
eyes, slender and distinguished in appearance, the 
Countess de Morny had delicate features and a 
sculpturesque head. The splendid salons of the 
Presidency were a frame worthy of her. Those of 
the mansion on quai d'Orsay — a real palace — were 
not less magnificent. Count Walewski, a typical 
great noble, and the Countess Walewska received 
with exquisite courtesy. Every member of the for- 
eign diplomatic corps was present at all the soirees 
at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

March 17. — The Piedmontese government, which, 
on March 9, had recalled to active service all soldiers 
dismissed or maintained in their homes from the 
class of 1832 to that of 1828, publishes a decree 
authorizing the creation of free companies. 

March 20. — The Emperor reviews the imperial 
guard on the Champ-de-Mars. The advocates of 
peace had feared that the ceremony might give rise 
to warlike demonstrations. Nothing of the kind 



76 FBANCE AND ITALY 

occurs. Napoleon III. is received by tiie troops 
with applause, but the cry of " Long live Italy ! " is 
not raised by either the army or the people. The 
principal object of this military f^te seems to have 
been the presentation of the Prince Imperial to the 
troops, his name appearing on the muster-rolls of 
the 1st grenadiers of the guards. The child, who is 
in an open carriage with the Empress, wears the 
regimental uniform. The Emperor, leaving the place 
he had occupied during the march past, and going 
towards the Jena bridge, orders the sentries to let the 
crowd come nearer. He is immediately surrounded 
by an immense multitude, who fling themselves almost 
under the feet of the horses while shouting "Long 
live the Emperor ! " There is a moment of great 
excitement in the cortege, but no accident happens. 
The review is favored with splendid weather. 

March 22. — The following note, which produces 
a great effect, is published in the Moniteur : " Kussia 
has proposed a congress with a view of preventing 
complications which might arise from the condition 
of Italy, and which would be likely to disturb the 
peace of Europe. This congress, composed of pleni- 
potentiaries from France, Austria, England, Prussia, 
and Russia, would assemble in a neutral city. The 
government of the Emperor has signified its adhe- 
sion to the proposition of the cabinet of Saint Peters- 
burg. The cabinets of London, Vienna, and Berlin 
have not yet replied officially." 

March 24. — - The Moniteur announces the adhesion 



LENT 77 

of the cabinets of London and Berlin to the proposal 
of a congress. 

3IarcJi 25. — The Mbmteur says : " The cabinet of 
Vienna has adhered to Russia's proposal concerning 
a congress. Count Cavour has left Turin for Paris 
at the invitation of the Emperor." 

The first item of news has a reassuring tendency, 
but the second is disquieting. The public at large 
likes to believe in the efficacy of a congress as a 
peaceful remedy. Men who know more about diplo- 
matic matters see nothing in it but a preliminary to 
war. It is at this moment that M. Thiers writes in 
a private letter : " The Emperor has a fixed idea : to 
bring about war while talking of peace." 

What are the two associates of Plombieres, Napo- 
leon III. and M. de Cavour, going to say to each 
other? Everybody is anxiously pondering this 
question. 

Mai^eh 26. — The Piedraontese statesman arrives at 
Paris. He goes to the Hotel de Londres, rue Cas- 
tiglione. No. 5, and during the day has an interview 
with the Emperor, not a word of which reaches the 
public. 

For the next two days he is not received by the 
sovereign, who is either indisposed or pretending to 
be so. To the anxious questions asked by financiers 
the Piedmontese minister contents himself by reply- 
ing : " There are chances for peace and there are 
chances for Avar." As Baron James Rothschild 
insists, Cavour smilingly replies : " Hold on, I will 



78 franc:e and italy 

make you a proposition: let us buy together; bull 
the market ; I will hand in my resignation ; there will 
be a rise of three francs." "You are too modest, 
Count," replies the banker; "you would fetch at 
least six francs." 

March 29. — Count Cavour has a final interview 
with the Emperor in presence of Count Walewski. 
In spite of the strong representations of the latter, 
he declares that Piedmont will not disarm, and he 
leaves the Tuileries dissatisfied with the Minister 
of Foreign Affairs if not with the sovereign. That 
evening he writes to General de La Marmora : " The 
Italian question has been broached as awkwardly as 
possible, but war is inevitable ; it will be delayed 
for two months at least ; it will be fought on the Po 
and on the Rhine." 

March 30. — Just before leaving Paris, Cavour 
writes a letter to Napoleon III., in which he reminds 
the sovereign of his former sympath}^, his encourage- 
ments and promises, and entreats him to turn a deaf 
ear to the advice of Count Walewski, and oppose 
a retrograde policy which would transform Italy 
into a deadly enemy of France, and force Victor 
Emmanuel to abdicate. 

April 1. — Count Cavour returns to Turin, where 
he is met at the railway station by a large group of 
friends who make him a clamorous ovation. On the 
same day, at Paris, the great Italian tragedienne, 
Mme. Ristori, appears in Paris in Fedra, a translation 
of the Phedre of Racine. 



LENT 79 

Ai^ril 3. — The Emperor reviews tlie troops of the 
army of Paris, and of the 1st military division on the 
Charap-de-Mars. The Empress, attended on either 
side by the Princess Mathilde and the Princess 
Clotilde, and holding the Prince Imperial in front of 
her, witnesses the review from the balcony of the 
Military School. 

April 10. — The Moniteur publishes an article which 
is a vindication of the imperial policy : " One does 
not fear the light when one seeks nothing but jus- 
tice," says the official journal. " The French gov- 
ernment has nothing to conceal, because it is sure 
of having nothing to disavow. Far from authorizing 
the suspicions of the Germanic spirit, the attitude 
it has taken on the Italian question should inspire 
it with the greatest security. France could not 
attack in Germany what she wishes to protect in 
Italy. Her policy, disowning all ambition to make 
conquests, pursues nothing but the satisfactions and 
guarantees demanded by international law, the wel- 
fare of nations, and the interest of Europe. ... To 
represent France as hostile to the German nationality 
is not, therefore, an error, but a misapprehension. 
The example of a national Germany which should 
reconcile its federative organization with the unitary 
tendencies the principle of which has already been 
laid down in the great commercial union of the 
Zollverein would not alarm us. All that develops 
in neighboring countries the relations created by 
commerce, industry, and progress is profitable to 



80 FRANCE AND ITALY 

civilization, and all that increases civilization elevates 
France." 

Such was the doctrine of which Napoleon III. was 
to be the apostle and the martyr. Alas ! what a 
cruel awakening from this lofty dream of nationali- 
ties was reserved for the generous and unfortunate 
sovereign! Was not the Germanic unity to which 
he looked forward so complacently to be the cause 
of his final disasters and the ruin of his dynasty ? 

Lent closed amidst complicated and barren nego- 
tiations, characterized by incessant fluctuations, to 
which even the powers engaged in the discussion 
attached slight importance. The congress was only 
a sort of diplomatic phantasmagoria which took seri- 
ously neither Napoleon III. nor Victor Emmanuel,, 
both of whom desired war, nor Francis Joseph, 
resolved on yielding nothing to his enemies. Agree- 
ment was impossible. Austria demanded the dis- 
armament of Sardinia, and Sardinia refused to disarm. 
If a congress was to be held, Sardinia was bound to 
take her place in it at any cost, and Austria would 
not allow her plenipotentiaries to sit beside Sar- 
dinian plenipotentiaries. It was the intention of 
Napoleon III. and Victor Emmanuel to wrest Milan 
and Venice from Austrian domination. That of 
Francis Joseph was to maintain that domination 
against all attacks. It was plain to all perspicacious 
minds that such questions could be settled only by 
the sword. 



CHAPTER XII 

HOLY WEEK 

TTTHEN Holy Week began people were still hop- 
ing for peace. The churches were filled on 
Palm Sunday, April 17. Those whose ideas were 
bellicose could meditate on these words of Christ 
in the Gospel of the Passion : " He that taketh the 
sword shall perish by the sword." 

During the day there was a religious concert at 
the Conservatory which the Empress had resolved 
to attend. They executed the Stabat Mater of Ros- 
sini, who sat in Auber's box. After the Inflammatus, 
sung by Mme. Gueymard-Lauters, all the spectators 
turned towards the author of William Tell, and 
saluted him with long and loud applause. The 
master, affected even to tears, rose to thank the audi- 
ence, who likewise rose. Men clapped their hands, 
women waved their handkerchiefs, the musicians 
struck their instruments with their bows. The en- 
thusiasm of the Empress was marked and undisguised. 

Monday, April 18. — It seemed possible to arrive 
at a peaceful solution. Count Walewski despatched 
the following telegram to Marshal P^lissier, ambas- 
sador of France, at London : " Kindly inform Lord 
G 81 



82 FRANCE AND ITALY 

Malmesbmy without delay that if England promises 
to insist with us on the admission of the Italian 
plenipotentiaries to the congress, I will immediately 
pledge Piedmont, by telegraph, to adhere to the 
principle of disarmament, the execution of which 
will be regulated, if there is time for it, even before 
the assembly of the congress. If you answer 2/es, 
my telegram will be sent at once." 

The English government instantly gave an affir- 
mative response. The telegram imperatively advis- 
ing disarmament leaves Paris for Turin. It is 
communicated to Count Cavour in the night of 
April 18-19. 

Taesday, April 19. — M. de Cavour despairingly 
submits. The acceptance of the Sardinian govern- 
ment is immediately notified to Paris and London. 
But the Piedmontese statesman does not abandon a 
vague hope that some unexpected circumstance may 
extricate him from the promise he has unwillingly 
made. 

He is not mistaken. That very day the Austrian 
Court adopts ah irato a resolution which is the most 
serious of faults. It sends two officers to Paris with 
an ultimatum against which the great powers protest. 

Nothing of the sort is as yet suspected at Paris. 
In the morning, the Moniteur had published a note 
on the diplomatic negotiations which concluded 
thus : " Everything seems to authorize the belief thjit 
if all the difficulties have not yet been smoothed 
away, a definitive understanding will soon be arrived 



HOLT WEEK 83 



at, and that there will be no further opposition to 
the assembling of the congress." 

During the night of April 20-21, it is learned at 
the Tuileries that Austria has determined to send to 
Turin the ultimatvim which will make war inevitable. 

Holy Thursday, April 21. — In the morning people 
read in the Moniteur a note which is considered 
pacific. It is worded as follows: "The govern- 
ment of Her Britannic Majesty has made the sub- 
joined propositions to the four powers: (1) That a 
general and simultaneous disarmament shall first 
be effected ; (2) that this disarmament shall be regu- 
lated by a military or civil commission independent 
of the congress; this commission to be composed 
of six commissioners, one from each of the five 
powers, and the sixth from Sardinia; (3) that as soon 
as this commission shall have assembled and begun 
its task, the congress shall assemble in its turn and 
proceed to the discussion of the political questions ; 
(4) that the representatives of the Italian States shall 
be invited by the congress, as soon as it assembles, 
to sit with the representatives of the five great 
powers, absolutely in the same manner as at the 
congress of Laybach in 1821. France, Russia, and 
Prussia have adhered to the propositions of the 
government of H. M. Britannic." 

Thus, at the very moment when all the chanceries 
knew the storm was about to break, Paris still 
deluded itself for a few moments with hopes of 
peace. 



84 FRANCE AND ITALY 

The Empress knew the truth. She got into a 
hack and went incognito to pray in five churches. 
She was recognized under her veil. At Saint-Roch 
she got entangled in a heavy drapery of black cloth 
from which a stranger politely assisted to extricate 
her. 

In the evening, Rossini's Stahat was sung in the 
chapel of the Tuileries. Afterwards there was a 
reception in the salons of the Empress. The news 
of the Austrian ultimatum had been confirmed. The 
Countess Stephanie Tascher de La Pagerie, who was 
present, thus describes it : " It meant war," she says. 
" Everybody got that impression. ... I read it in 
the thoughtful countenances of the ministers group- 
ing together to discuss it ; I saw it in the confident 
glances of the officers present, who carried their heads 
high; I divined it still more in the anxious faces of 
their wives, who wept in spite of themselves, and who 
hid themselves to weep. ... I sought at the same 
time to read in the eyes of the Emperor what he 
experienced in presence of so serious an event, and 
I wondered whether, at such a moment, he would 
not depart from his habitual and impenetrable calm- 
ness. I admit that no alteration in his impassible 
countenance was visible. At most he seemed some- 
what preoccupied, but content, and he chatted with 
his ministers and showed them the latest despatches 
which he had just received." 

Giood Friday^ April 22. — The Moniteur published 
the following note: "Austria has not given her 



HOLT WEEK 85 i| 



auliesioQ to the proposition made by England, and 
accepted by France, Russia, and Prussia. Moreover, 
it would appear that the cabinet of Vienna lias re- 
solved to address a direct communication to the 
cabinet of Turin to obtain the disarmament of Sar- 
dinia. In presence of these facts, the Emperor has 
ordered the concentration of several divisions on the 
frontier of Piedmont." 

Holy Saturday^ April 23. — In the afternoon, the 
two Austrian officers bearing the Austrian ultimatum, 
Baron von Kellersberg and Count Ceschi de Santa- 
Croce, arrived at Turin. At that hour the proposed 
law which in the event of war remitted to the King, 
during the continuance of hostilities, the plenitude 
of civil and military powers, was under discussion in 
the Chamber of Deputies. The law being passed, 
Count Cavour left the Chamber. " It is," said he, 
"the last session of the Piedmontese parliament 
which has just ended; next year we will open the 
first Italian parliament." He had no sooner returned 
home than he was apprised of the presence of the two 
Austrian messengers. He took from their hands the 
ultimatum of Count Buol, which concluded thus : 
"I have the honor to beg Your Excellency to tell 
me, yes or no, whether the royal government con- 
sents to put its army on a peace footing without 
delay, and to disband the Italian volunteers. The 
bearer of this, to whom you will, M. le Comte, kindly 
remit your reply, has orders to hold himself at your 
disposition for that purpose during three days. If, 



86 FRANCE AND ITALY 

at the expiration of this term, he receives no reply, 
or should that reply be not entirely satisfactory, the 
responsibility for the serious consequences which this 
refusal will entail, will rest exclusively upon the 
government of His Sardinian Majesty. After hav- 
ing exhausted in vain all conciliatory means of pro- 
curing for his peoples the guaranties of peace on 
which the Emperor has a right to insist, His Majesty, 
to his very great regret, will be obliged to resort to 
arms to obtain them." 

Count Cavour, after reading this ultimatum slowly, 
dismissed the messengers politely, and took good 
care not to notify them at once of the refusal of his 
government. He needed every moment of delay, as 
much for completing his military preparations as in 
order to leave time for the arrival of the French army. 

The same day, in Paris, people read in the 
Moniteur : "The Austrian government has thought 
itself obliged to address a direct communication to 
the Sardinian government for the purpose of request- 
ing it to place its army on a peace footing and to 
disband its volunteers. This communication was to 
be transmitted to Turin by an aide-de-camp of Gen- 
eral Giulay, commander-in-chief of the Austrian army 
in Lombardy. This officer was to be charged to 
declare that he would await a reply for three days, 
and that any dilatory reply would be considered a 
refusal. England and Russia have not hesitated 
to protest against the conduct of Austria in this 
circumstance." 



HOLY WEEK 87 



The same issue of the Mofiiteur announced that 
the great military commands had been distributed in 
the following manner, — Army of Paris, Marshal 
Magnan ; army of Lyons, Marshal Count de Castel- 
lane ; army of observation at Nancy, Marshal Pdiis- 
sier, Due de Malakoff ; 1st corps, army of the Alps, 
Marshal Count Baraguey d'Hilliers ; 2d corps. Gen- 
eral Count de MacMahon ; 3d corps, Marshal Can- 
robert; 4th corps. General Niel. Prince Napoleon 
was to have the command of a separate corps. 
Marshal Randon was appointed general of the army 
of the Alps. 

In the course of the same day there reached the 
Tuileries an official request from the Sardinian gov- 
ernment for the support, already assured, of France. 
In the evening, M. Berlioz gave a concert at the 
Opera Oomique. Fragments from his fine work, 
the Damnation of Faust, were successfully executed. 
The audience was scanty. As the musical chronicler 
of the Illustration said : " Political events begin to 
give the public terrible distractions ; flutes, hautboys, 
sopranos, and tenors, who can listen to you when 
the voice of cannon serves as your accompaniment ? " 

Holy Week, which had opened with hopes of 
peace, was closing amidst warlike preoccupations. 
The precepts of the Gospel had not been attended 
to. Three Catholic nations were about to cut each 
other's throats in spite of the great saying: Glory 
to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men 
of good will ! 



CHAPTER XIII 

EASTER WEEK 

RASTER SUNDAY, April 24. — The day of the 
greatest of religious joys is, this time, pro- 
foundly troubled. The churches are raore crowded 
than ever with the faithful. But the alleluia does 
not ring out with its habitual gladness. " The dis- 
ciples being assembled, Jesus appeared in the midst 
of them, and said : Peace be with you ! " This say- 
ing does not apply to France. France is not in 
peace. At the very hour when the divine office is 
celebrated, soldiers are making their preparations to 
depart with feverish activity. Crowds swarm tow- 
ards the barracks and the quarters. They hear the 
trumpets and the rolling of the drums. Here come 
regiments in campaign uniform on their way to the 
Lyons station, followed by an enthusiastic populace, 
and who take route for Italy. 

Monday, April 25. — The entire garrison of Paris 
has departed. Only the imperial guard remains, and 
that, too, is preparing to start. Garrison duty, and 
that of the staff, is performed by the Paris guard, 
and there is such a shortage of men that at the 
Bourse cavalrymen have to take the duty of foot- 
soldiers. 

88 



EASTER WEEK ' 89 

Tuesday/, April 26. — The grenadiers of the im- 
perial guard, before beginning their campaign, go to 
receive their flag at the Tuileries. The Empress 
and the Prince Imperial come down to the court, 
and the sovereign embraces the flag with emotion. 
It is on this day that the delay accorded to Piedmont 
by the Austrian ultimatum expires. This ultimatum 
had assumed the form of a despatch addressed by 
Count Buol to Count Cavour, and delivered to the 
latter by Baron Kellersberg, April 23, at half-past 
five in the afternoon. The reply is contained in a 
despatch addressed, on the 26th, by Count Cavour to 
Count Buol. It ran as follows: "Your Excellency 
has requested me to reply by a ^es or a no to the 
invitation given us to reduce the army to a peace 
footing and disband the Italian volunteers, adding 
that if, at the end of three days. Your Excellency 
receives no response, or if the response is not com- 
pletely satisfactory, His Majesty the Emperor of 
Austria has decided to have recourse to arms to 
impose on us by force the measures indicated by 
his communication. 

" The question of the disarmament of Sardinia 
has been the object of numerous negotiations be- 
tween the great powers and the government of His 
Majesty. These negotiations have resulted in a 
proposition formulated by England, to which France, 
Prussia, and Russia have adhered. Sardinia, in a 
spirit of conciliation, has accepted it without re- 
serve. . . . 



90 FBANCE AND ITALY 

" The conduct of Sardinia in this circumstance 
has been appreciated by Europe. Whatever conse- 
quences it may entail, the King, my august master, 
is convinced that the responsibility will rest upon 
those vrho first resorted to arms, who have rejected 
the propositions formulated by one great power and 
recognized by the others as just and reasonable, and 
who now substitute in place of it a menacing sum- 
mons." 

It is half-past five in the evening. Baron Kel- 
lersberg is introduced into the apartments of Count 
Cavour, who hands him the despatch, expresses a 
hope of seeing him in happier days, and sends him 
away with Colonel Govone, who is to accompanj^ 
him to the frontier. The familiars of the Piedmontese 
minister are waiting in the anteroom of his cabinet ; 
he comes out to them and exclaims : " The die is " 
cast. Aleajacta est.'''' 

On that same day, April 26, a summary of the 
situation, drawn up hj Count Walewski in accord- 
ance with the Emperor's orders, is read at Paris to 
the Senate and the Corps Legislatif. This document 
represents the action of the imperial diplomacy as 
having been invariably correct, moderate, conciliatory. 
It says among other things : " If the reiterated efforts 
of the four powers to preserve peace have encountered 
obstacles, these obstacles did not proceed from France. 
If war must be the result of existing complications, 
the government of His Majesty will be profoundly 
convinced that it has done all in its power to avert 



EASTER WEEK 91 



this extremity. If in presence of this state of 
things Sardinia is menaced, if, as everything gives 
occasion to presume, its territory is invaded, France 
cannot hesitate to respond to the appeal of an allied 
nation to which it is united by common interests and 
traditional sympathies renewed by a recent confra- 
ternity of arms and the union contracted between 
the two reigning families. Thus, gentlemen, the 
government of the Emperor, strong in the constant 
moderation and the spirit of conciliation with which 
it has never ceased to be inspired, calml}'- awaits the 
course of events, confident that its conduct in the 
different vicissitudes which have just occurred will 
meet the unanimous approbation of France and of 
Europe." 

This document is several times applauded, not 
with long-sustained cheering, but sufficiently to give 
the idea of approbation. The president of the 
Council of State then offers two bills, one of which 
raises from one hundred thousand to one hundred and 
forty thousand men the contingent of the forthcom- 
ing levy of troops, while the other authorizes a loan 
of five millions. 

The president of the Corps Legislatif, Count 
Morny, who has always been an ardent advocate 
of peace, rises to speak. "If war is inevitable," he 
says, "there is at least a reasonable certainty that 
it will be localized and limited, especially if the 
other Germanic powers have the wisdom to compre- 
hend that nothing is concerned but a purely Italian 



92 FRANCE AND ITALY 



question which does not cloak any scheme ol' con- 
quest, and which cannot produce any revolution. 
As to you, gentlemen, at the opening of this ques- 
tion, you displayed a pacific spirit inspired by your 
solicitude for the great interests of the country; 
that was jouv right and your duty, and it gives 
additional value and weight to the support you will 
lend the Emperor. Make it evident to-day, so that 
none may misunderstand it, either at home or 
abroad, that when confronting foreigners, we are 
all united in a single thought, — the success and 
glory of our arms." 

In the course of the same day the advance guard 
of the French army is disembarked in Italy. The 
squadron with General Bazaine's division on board, 
coming from Toulon, arrives in the port of Genoa. 
The landing of the troops is effected to the music 
of the military bands. An immense concourse of 
spectators greets the French soldiers with frenzied 
applause. 

Wednesday, April 27. — The Emperor and the 
Empress are present at the representation of Iler- 
culanum at the Op^ra. The audience rises spontane- 
ously and cheers them as tliey enter. 

The day goes by without the appearance of any 
Austrian troops on the right bank of the Tessin. 
It was generally supposed that Austria would profit 
by her opportunities, and that she had hastened the 
rupture merely that she might also push on the at- 
tack. Her troops, however, remain immovable dur- 



EASTER WEEK 93 



ing the 27th and 29th, and it is not until the 
afternoon of the 29th that they decide to cross the 
Tessin, which act is the commencement of hostilities. 
This inexplicable delay is as great a blunder as the 
ultimatum had been. 

Saturday^ April 30. — The Corps L^gislatif holds 
an interesting session in which it discusses the bill 
authorizing the five hundred million loan. The 
speech of M. Jules Favre is a violent accusation of 
Austria and an enthusiastic defence of Piedmont. 
The orator says that Austria has ruled Italy during 
forty years by violence, proscriptions, confiscations, 
and terror; but that violence, thank God, is always 
transient and can never establish a durable govern- 
ment. Piedmont has the prestige of a good and holy 
cause, and the moral support of all generous hearts. 
It is ruled by a young sovereign, the pride of his 
people, a sovereign who longs to avenge the death 
of his noble, illustrious, and unfortunate father. . . . 
The policy of the French government has been the 
traditional policy of France ; for the orator is con- 
vinced that France will be powerful only when 
Italy shall be regenerated and free. Let us break 
the chains of the enslaved ; that is the mission of 
France. 

Jules Favre expounds the thesis of the Left. The 
Viscount Anatole Lemercier expresses the anxieties 
of the men of the Right, the advocates of the Papacy. 
Before voting the loan, he asks permission to put 
a question to the government commissioners. Ac- 



94 FRANCE AND ITALY 

cording to him, Catholic consciences are disturbed 
by the events which are preparing in Italy. To 
be completely reassured, he would like to hear the 
government of the Emperor declare that it has taken 
every necessary precaution to guarantee the security 
of the Holy Father. The orator is firmly persuaded 
that it will never be threatened so long as our sol- 
diers shall reside in Rome. He knows that the visi- 
ble head of the Christian religion possesses forces 
superior to those of all armies, the veneration of the 
world on one hand, and on the other his own weak- 
ness ; but it is none the less a glorious spectacle for 
a Catholic Frenchman to see the honor of being the 
auxiliaries of that veneration and that weakness re- 
served to our own troops. The orator demands that 
this rSle, so clearly assigned to France, the eldest 
daughter of the Church, shall not be abandoned. 

M. Baroche, president of the Council of State, 
remarks that the previous speaker has just replied 
to his own question by invoking souvenirs which the 
government of the Emperor will take good care not 
to foi'get. There is no room for doubt. The govern- 
ment will take all measures necessary to ensure the 
security and independence of the Holy Father amidst 
the disturbances of which Italy will be the scene. 

Another Catholic orator, the Viscount de La Tour, 
succeeds the Viscount Anatole Lemercier. He says 
that France ought to disavow in the most explicit 
manner all alliance with the Revolution. He does 
not admit that the fine and noble sword of France 



EASTER WEEK 95 



may be coupled with that of General Garibaldi. He 
does not see allies for our country in these undisci- 
plined bands, but enemies of European order. He 
is unwilling that we should incur, in the eyes of 
Europe, the suspicion of setting means at work the 
employment of which may become the germ of new 
revolutions for Italy. 

Still more characteristic is the speech of M. 
Plichon. It is a sort of prologue to the violent and 
excited debates of the future. The deputy from 
the North says aloud what many of his colleagues 
are saying in a whisper. He states with precision 
and summarizes the criticisms passed upon the 
Italian policy of Napoleon III. M. Plichon has voted 
for the augmentation of the contingent, because 
our troops have crossed the frontier and, the honor 
of the flag being involved, there is no room for 
deliberation. But if the question had been intact, 
and if one could have examined the matter to find 
out what interest France had in going to war, he 
would have said no. He has voted in the affirmative, 
but sadly and with pain, and above all with the pro- 
found conviction that the government had unneces- 
sarily involved the country in a hazardous and 
dangerous war for results that were at least uncer- 
tain. According to M. Plichon, it does not appear 
from any of the governmental communications that 
the policy of Austria in these latter times has 
assailed either the honor or the security of France, 
or even the equilibrium of Europe. The orator 



96 FRANCE AND ITALY 



wants to know why wa,r is made and what war it is. 
Is it to be a revolutionary or a political wa,r? will it 
be the negation or the consecration of the Roman 
expedition, the expulsion of the Austrians, the in- 
dependence, the unity, or the federation of Italy ? 
He wants to know where we are going and where 
we are to stop. He does not see what guarantees 
one can have against the unknown. It is impossible 
to be revolutionary in Italy and remain conservative 
in France and in Rome. The revolutionary spirit 
cannot be over-excited on one point without being 
roused upon all others. It is easy to see what France 
can lose by a war, but it is not easy to see what she 
can gain. 

Nevertheless the five hundred million loan is unani- 
mously voted. Yet the speech of the deputy of the 
North, delivered in a milieu ordinarily so docile, so sub- 
missive to every indication of the sovereign's will, so 
receptive of all his ideas, has given rise to serious 
reflections in the Corps Legislatif. The Emperor, in 
fact, had always desired the war, but it had never 
been desired by an overwhelming majority of that 
body. All the prestige of victory would be needed 
to efface this impression. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE OPENING OF THE WAR 

jNE noticeably curious thing about all wars is 
that until the very hour when they are declared, 
optimists may be found who are still predicting 
peace. Certain ingenuous souls, when they learned 
that on April 27 and 28 the Austrian troops had not 
yet crossed the Tessin, still insisted on believing that 
the swords would remain in their scabbards. There 
was a good deal of talk about a pacific article in the 
Morning Herald and a speech by Lord Derby hint- 
ing the possibility of a resumption of negotiations. 
This final gleam of hope was extinguished in Paris 
on May 1. It was learned that the Austrians had 
crossed the Tessin on April 29. Therefore the war 
had begun. 

Criticisms and recriminations ceased at once. The 
French nation felt its ancient warlike instincts 
revive. Tlie journals of all parties thought of 
nothing any longer but the honor of the flag. There 
was not one discordant note. Even those publicists 
who had blamed the war before it was declared, 
spoke now in patriotic tones. In the Revue des Deux 
Mondes, the chronicler of the fortnight, M. Eugene 
H 97 



98 FBANCE AND ITALY 



Forcade, wrote : " We have got through with the 
complex duties of the discussion it was necessary 
to maintain so long as France seemed free to choose 
between peace and war. Necessity has spoken. No 
more recriminations over the irreparable and the 
irresolvable; the era of simple dut}^ has begun. 
France is engaged in a war against Austria for the 
independence of Italy ; henceforward we have but 
one opinion and one will : France must triumph and 
Italy must be independent. Our hearts contain 
now but a single wish, and it is that the conscien- 
tious objections we were obliged to express during 
the phase of public deliberation may be radically 
and gloriously refuted by the bravery and success 
of France." 

The French troops had penetrated into Piedmont 
even before hostilities began, some by way of the 
Alps, some by sea. Marshal Canrobert and Gen- 
eral Niel arrived at Suze during the night of April 
28. They were at Turin the following day, and 
in company with King Victor Emmanuel inspected 
the positions of the Boire. General Baraguey 
d'Hilliers landed at Genoa the same day, and 
was soon rejoined there by General MacMahon and 
General Regnaud de Saint- Jean d'Angely. Genoa 
put on a festive air. Frenchmen and Italians 
seemed to form but one family. As the city was 
not provided with barracks enough for so many 
troops, soldiers were lodged with private persons, 
who gave them erery attention. The sumptuous 



THF. OPENING OF THE WAR 99 

palaces of the city opened their doors to offer hos- 
pitality to the soldiers of France. 

Part of the cavalry entered Italy by the Corniche 
road. Listen to an officer of the guides, the Marquis 
de Massa : " Having come from Melun to Marseilles 
by rail, we were at once sent forward by day stations 
to Genoa, by way of Brignoles, Cannes, and the 
bridge of Var. Being the first regiments of cavalry 
to cross the frontier like this, we got the cream of 
the Nicene ovations, passing over a flower-strewn 
road where all the vehicles of the country, hired by 
its usual tourists, were waiting to meet us in a line 
that stretched far beyond the limits of the octroi. 
And among them, bolt upright on their coursers, 
were fair ladies who flung roses at us ; brown Ital- 
ians who distributed bags of bonbons ; beautiful 
Americans, recognizable by their carnation tints, 
who clapped their little hands as hard as they could. 
I recollect one old English lady from whom I re- 
ceived a packet tied up with a string, on which was 
written: 'Safe return with promotion.' It con- 
tained six "cakes of chocolate. In the evening, the 
municipality treated us to a full-dress performance 
with a ballet, singing, and a sending up of pigeons." 

At Paris things were taking a more decidedly war- 
like turn. " Great hopes are entertained," wrote the 
Illustration, " that the sun of May, propitious to our 
arms, may light up a new day of Marengo. This 
holy confidence of patriotism, the Bourse, and those 
who live by it, cannot greatly disturb by their dis- 



100 FBANCE ANB ITALY 

couraged attitude. Whenever ' Malbrook goes to war,'' 
money takes the alarm. But that is a kind of panic 
which always subsides when the cannon announce 
the first victory. The Bourse waits for the report 
to adore the echo." 

May 3, M. Achille Fould, Minister of State, read 
the following communication to the Senate : " So 
long ago as the 26th of last month, His Majesty's 
charge d'affaires at Vienna notified the Austrian 
government that if its troops crossed the frontier of 
Piedmont, France would be obliged to consider this 
invasion of an allied country as a declaration of war. 
The Court of Austria having persisted in employing 
force, the Emperor has ordered me to bring this 
fact, which constitutes Austria in a state of war 
with France, to the knowledge of the Senate." 

Shouts of " Long live the Emperor ! " resounded. 

The president of the Senate, M. Troplong, then 
spoke as follows : " If it is permissible for me to 
translate into a few words the meaning of the accla- 
mations we have just heard, I will say that while my 
illustrious colleagues who have been given commands 
are sustaining the glory of the French name in face 
of the enemy, the senators who remain here will not 
recoil from any act of civil courage and devotion to 
the Emperor. We shall rival each other in patriot- 
ism, because this is a just war, it is merely a response 
to a defiance and an aggression. It is a consequence 
of that time-honored policy which is as much excited 
by Italian crises as if they were French emergencies." 



THE OPENING OF THE WAE 101 

M. Troplong contrived to praise Napoleon III. and 
Pius IX. in a single sentence. " The Emperor," he 
added, " cannot allow Turin, which is the key of the 
Alps, nor Rome, which holds the keys of the Church 
by the hands of a saintly and venerated Pontiff, to 
fall under the usurping yoke of an influence hostile 
to France. Therefore its nationality will be re- 
stored to Italy. It will not be revolutionized but 
enfranchised, and that beautiful land will find a 
liberator." 

On the same day appeared the Emperor's procla- 
mation to the French people. Dated from the palace 
of the Tuileries, May 3, 1859, this document bears 
to the utmost degree the peculiar stamp of the style 
and ideas of the sovereign : " Frenchmen ! " says 
Napoleon III., " Austria, by sending her army upon 
the territory of the King of Sardinia, our ally, de- 
clares war upon us. Thus she violates justice and 
the treaties, and threatens our frontiers. All the 
great powers have protested against this aggression. 
Piedmont having accepted conditions which ouglit 
to ensure peace, people ask what can be the reason 
of this sudden invasion : the reason is that Austria 
has brought things to an extremity where either she 
must dominate as far as the Alps, or Italy must be 
free as far as the Adriatic ; for, in that country, 
every piece of ground that remains independent is a 
danger for her power." 

The Emperor declares that the natural allies of 
France have always been those who desire the 



102 FRANCE AND ITALY 

amelioration of liumanity, and that when she draws 
the sword it is not to domineer, but to enfranchise : 
" The object of this war," he adds, " is to restore Italy 
to herself, not to change her master, and we shall 
have a nation on our frontiers which owes to us its 
independence. We are not going to Italy to foment 
disorder nor to unsettle the power of the Holy Father, 
whom we have replaced on his throne, but to with- 
draw it from that foreign pressure which crushes the 
entire peninsula, and to assist in basing order there 
on satisfied legitimate interests. We are going, in 
fact, to recover the traces left by our fathers upon 
tha,t classic land, made illustrious by so many victo- 
ries. God grant we may be worthy of them ! " 

The sovereign terminates his proclamation by these 
pathetic Vv^ords, calculated to affect the masses : " I 
shall soon go to place myself at the head of the 
armj^ I leave in France the Empress and my son. 
Seconded by the experience and intelligence of the 
last brother of the Emperor, she will be able to prove 
herself equal to her mission. I confide them to the 
valor of the army which remains in France to guard 
our frontiers as well, as to protect the domestic 
hearth ; I confide them, in fine, to the whole j)eople, 
who will surround them with that love and devotion 
of which I daily receive so many proofs. 

" Courage, therefore, and union ! Our country is 
going once more to demonstrate to the world that 
it has not degenerated. Providence will bless our 
efforts; for the cause which relies on justice, human- 



THE OPENING OF THE WAR 103 

it}^ the love of countiy and of independence, is holy 
in the sight of God." 

Napoleon III. has attained his object. He has 
found means to frustrate all the efforts of European 
diplomacy, which desired peace, and to make the 
Emperor Francis Joseph imprudently assume the 
part of the aggressor. He has succeeded in inclining 
the sympathies of the people to a war which is cen- 
sured by the ruling classes. He has cleverly pre- 
pared public opinion. He has made the national 
fibre vibrate. Now he can depart. 



}: 



CHAPTER XV 

THE DEPARTURE OP THE EMPEROR 

rr^HE Emperor had witnessed already the departure 
of his entire guard. Preceded by a band, each 
regiment defiled on the Place du Carrousel, where it 
halted, surrounded by an immense crowd. An officer 
left tlie ranks and went to the palace of the Tuileries 
for the flag which had been left there. As soon as 
the officer had returned to his regiment, the Emperor 
appeared at one of the windows of the Marsan pavil- 
ion with the Empress and the Prince Imperial. The 
soldiers presented arms ; the band played the air 
of Queen Hortense: Partant pour la Syrie; shouts 
resounded. 

While a regiment of grenadiers was marching 
through the rue de Rivoli, on its way to the Lyons 
station, its vivandi^re inquired the number of the 
house in that street where the secretary of the Em- 
press lived. It was pointed out to her. She went 
in, taking with her a little girl of six years, and said 
to the secretary : " I am obliged to go with my regi- 
ment. I beg Madame the Empress to take charge 
of my child. I have no fear about her ; I know she 
will bring her up well until I return." Then she 

104 



THE DEPARTURE OF THE EMPEROR 105 

vanislied, leaving the little girl behind her. On 
being informed of this, the Empress willingly com- 
plied with the desire of the valiant mother./ 

The Emperor's preparations for departure were 
finished. Marshal Randon, who had at first been 
selected as major-general of the army of Italy, had 
just replaced Marshal Vaillant as Minister of War, 
the latter becoming a major-general. The Emperor 
took with him all his military household, which was 
made up as follows : — 

Aides-de-camp : Generals, Count Roguet, de Cotte, 
Count de Montebello, de Beville, Prince de La 
Moskowa, Fleury; Colonels, de Waubert, de Genlis, 
Marquis de Toulongeon, Count Lepic, Count Reille, 
Fav^. 

Orderly officers : Colonel Baron de Menneval ; 
Chief of squadron Schmitz ; Captains, Brady, Count 
d'Andlau, Klein de Kleinenberg, Viscount Friant, de 
Tascher de La Pagerie, Prince de La Tour d'Au- 
vergne, Eynard de Clermont-Tonnerre, Darguesse; 
Lieutenant Prince Joachim Murat, and the Viscount 
de Champagny Cadore, lieutenant of a man-of-war; 
Baron Nicholas Clary, officer of the national guard. 
Besides these, the Emperor was also attended by 
two equerries : Baron de Bourgoing and M. Davillier ; 
a chaplain, the Abbd Laine ; a physician. Doctor Con- 
neau; a surgeon, Baron Larrey; and two secretaries. 
On Sunday, May 8, two days before the departure, 
a soiree at the Tuileries brought together the great 
officers of the Crown, the ministers, and all those 



106 FBANGE AND ITALY 

who formed part of the households of Their Majesties. 
It is thus described by the Countess Stephanie de 
Tascher de La Pagerie, who was present: "The 
attitude of the Empress was truly admirable. One 
felt that she had undertaken to conceal her emotion 
and impart courage to all present. She was affable 
to all; instead of remaining seated in the chimney 
corner, surrounded by a small group of privileged 
persons, she went from one to another, talking seri- 
ously with the men, affectionately with the women. 
My eyes followed her with satisfaction, for I love her 
when she is like this. One feels that she is thor- 
oughly impressed by the mission entrusted to her, 
and that she is bent on proving herself worthy of it. 
The Emperor talked with all the ladies, promising 
to look after their husbands, brothers, or sons. No- 
body wept; but hearts shed inwardly those tears 
which are not seen, but which are only the sadder 
and more bitter on that account." 

Tuesday, May 10. — A Mass of adieu is celebrated 
in the chapel of the Tuileries. The Cardinal Arch- 
bishop of Paris officiates. Pale and lost in medita- 
tion, the Empress "in prayer resembles a beautiful 
statue of marble. 

The Minister of Worship and of Public Instruc- 
tion has addressed a circular to all the archbishops 
and bishops of the Empire, which is thus worded: 
" Monseigneur, the Emperor is about to place him- 
self at the head of the army of Italy. His Majesty 
desires that public prayers shall be ordered in all 



TEE DEPARTURE OF THE EMPEROR 107 

the churches of the Empii-e to ask God to ensure the 
success of our arms and protect France. I pray 
Your Grandeur to be so good as to take the neces- 
sary measures to comply with these pious intentions." 

The hour of departure is at hand; the members 
of the privy council, the ministers, grand officers of 
the Crown, ladies and officers of the households of 
the Emperor and the Empress, are waiting in the 
salons of the Tuileries. The Princess Mathilde, 
the Princess Marie of Baden and her husband 
the Duke of Hamilton take leave there of the 
sovereign. 

It is half -past five in the evening. Their Majesties 
are about to enter the carriage. Napoleon III. may 
count on an ovation. Journals which favor the 
Italian cause have been educating opinion. It is 
the liberal tradition to hasten to the support of op- 
pressed peoples. The principle of nationalities, 
much disputed by the aristocracy and the middle 
classes, combines the sympathies of the working- 
men and the proletariat. It is an essentially demo- 
cratic doctrine. All the men on the Left benches 
and many of those on the Right have been preach- 
ing it continually throughout the entire reign of 
Louis Philippe and the period of the Second Republic. 
The Emperor is taking the line of the Liberals of 
the monarchy and the Republicans of 1848. He is 
certain to be applauded by the crowd. 

The procession moves. Large groups of the com- 
mon people mingle with it. Preceded and followed 



108 FRANCE AND ITALY 

by detachments of the hundred-guards, the Emperor 
is in an open carriage with the Empress. Five 
carriages follow them. The cortege starts from the 
court of the Tuileries, passes beneath the arch of 
triumph of the Carrousel, crosses the Louvre court, 
and debouches on the rue de Rivoli, which is com- 
pletely hung with flags. The windows of every 
story in the houses are filled with spectators who 
wave their hats and handkerchiefs. No troop had 
been detailed for the service ; it is the population 
which forms the line along the route to be taken by 
the Emperor. At times, the crowd is so compact, 
so close to the sovereign's carriage, that the horses 
can scarcely advance. The enthusiasm continually 
increases. In the democratic quarters, the faubourg 
Saint-Antoine, the Place of the Bastile, the rue de 
Lyon, it amounts to frenzy. 

Men who are generally under police surveillance 
are among those who shout Looig live the Empe7'or ! 
most loudly. There are workingmen who address 
him remarks like this: "Be easy, we will watch 
over your wife and your son until you come back," 
and women who throw rosary beads and medals of 
Our Lady of Victories into the carriage. In spite 
of his imperturbable phlegm. Napoleon III. is a 
man who hungers for emotions. He loves adven- 
tures and delights in dangers. His temperament, 
that of a political gamester, prefers the greatest 
risks. The more hazardous an enterprise, the more 
attractive he finds it. The ovation of which he is 



THE DEPARTUBE OF THE EMPEBOR 109 

the recipient at the moment of his departure fills 
him with a joy which betrays itself on his ordina- 
rily impassive countenance. This spontaneity of 
acclamations as he passes, this community of ideas 
between him and the democracy, this popular suf- 
frage, flatters him more than the approbation of all 
the European chanceries would have power to do. 

The passage has lasted about three-quarters of an 
hour. Their Majesties alight from the carriage and 
find King Jerome and the Princess Clotilde at the 
station. Prince Napoleon does not leave his old 
father and his young wife without emotion. There 
are tears in the eyes of the Princess, but remember- 
ing the fearlessness of her race, she murmurs, " That 
is enough," and ceases to weep. 

It is a quarter past six. The imperial train starts, 
as quick as lightning. The Empress is going as far 
as Montereau with the Emperor. They stop there 
for a few moments, and a dinner of forty covers is 
served. Here the last farewells are spoken. The 
Empress gives a medal to each officer of the Em- 
peror's household. Him she embraces tenderly and 
sets off for Paris, while he continues his route to 
Marseilles. The inhabitants of towns and country 
places, hastening with torches to all the way stations, 
greet with acclamations the passing train which 
carries Csesar and liis fortunes. 

Ma?/ 11. — Quarter past eleven in the morning. 
The train arrives at Marseilles. Napoleon HI. goes 
directly from the railroad to the old port where the 



110 FRANCE ANB ITALY 

imperial yacht, La Heine Hortense^ is waiting to 
cany him to Genoa. All the streets are draped 
with flags. The enthusiasm is as noisy as that of 
Paris. About two o'clock, the imperial yacht, 
followed by the Vauban^ gains the open, passing 
between bedecked vessels and the numerous boats 
of all descriptions which fill the harbor. One hun- 
dred and one discharges of cannon salute the depar- 
ture. The sky is clear. A glorious sun shines 
down upon waves as smooth as a looking-glass, and 
the two vessels soon vanish on the horizon. 



CHAPTER XVI 

GENOA AND ALEXANDEIA 

rr^HE city of Genoa is preparing to receive Napo- 
leon III. May 11, a proclamation of the syndic 
celebrates the "champion of justice and of civiliza- 
tion, the avenger of oppressed peoples, the heir of 
the name and the glory of Napoleon the Great," he 
who " not content with having sent instantly a for- 
midable army into Italy, comes himself, accompanied 
by the good wishes of all France, to take command 
of it." "Citizens," adds the syndic, "the Emperor 
of the French could not give us a stronger proof of 
sympathy, nor a surer pledge of victory. Let us 
then, with full hearts, express our profound senti- 
ments of admiration and gratitude for the august 
chief of the great nation which extends a kindred 
hand to Italy, that she may effectually assist her to 
conquer at last the independence she has coveted so 
long." 

Genoa has been in holiday trim since morning. 
All the city is afoot. A special train brings Count 
Cavour, who is bound to be among the first to greet 
Napoleon III. The Genoese national guard and a 
regiment of the grenadiers of the imperial guard are 

111 



112 FBANCE AND ITALY 

drawn up in battle array to pay the usual honors to 
the sovereign. Two steamers of the State, lying at 
either side of the passage into the harbor, serve as 
reserved tribunes for the higher classes of society. 
All the places are filled by eleven o'clock, and the 
ladies are not afraid of exposing themselves to the 
rays of a hot sun. The Bourse closes. The shops 
are shut. An enormous crowd gathers on the com- 
mercial port, invades the vessels, and even climbs 
into the yards. 

Half-past twelve. — A discharge of cannon from the 
batteries of the LantSrne announces that the impe- 
rial yacht, La Heine Hortense^ is in sight. At this 
signal. Prince de Carignan, Count Cavour, Count 
Nigra, minister of the household of King Victor 
Emmanuel, the Marquis de Breme, grand master of 
ceremonies, the Prince de La Tour d'Auvergne, 
minister of France, and all the members of the 
legation, the French generals, Herbillon, military 
commander of Genoa, Lebceuf, commander of the 
artillery of the army, and Frossard, commander of 
engineers, go aboard the little steamboat AmpMon, 
and advance to meet the Emperor. More than a 
thousand small vessels, all decked with flags, join 
with this advice-boat to go and bid the sovereign 
liberator welcome. 

Standing on the main deck of his vessel, Napo- 
leon III. contemplates a splendid horizon ; Genoa 
the Superb, the nolle and royal city, made famous 
by Tasso and Alfieri, Genoa, with its marble palaces, 



GENOA AND ALEXANBBIA 113 

rising above each other like the seats of a vast 
amphitheatre, its chain of lofty hills, its harbor 
forming a semicircle nearly half a league in length, 
and separated from the sea by tv/o immense moles. 

Two o'' clock. — The camions roar, the bells ring, 
the drums beat the general, the troops jpresent arms, 
a loud shout issues from all throats. The imperial 
yacht enters the basin and advances rapidly to the 
quay. On reaching the landing-place, where he is re- 
ceived by General RegnaucI de Saint-Jean d'Angely, 
commander-in-chief of his guard, and by the principal 
Genoese authorities, the Emperor goes down the side 
into a yawl hung with the Sardinian and French 
colors and almost concealed from view by flowers, 
and sails slowly in the direction of the Palais-Royal 
between the boats thronging the harbor. Hats and 
handkerchiefs are waved. Frenzied acclamations 
resound. 

The Palais-Royal is an admirable residence bought 
by King Charles-Felix from the Durazzo family. It 
rises facing the sea, with which it communicates by 
a gallery issuing in the arsenal of the port. A mar- 
ble staircase, usually reserved to the King alone, dips 
its lowest steps in the waters of the military basin. 
Here the Emperor is to lodge. From here he 
addresses his first order of the day to the army of 
Italy : — 

" Soldiers ! I come to place myself at your head 
to lead you to the combat. We are about to second 
the struggle of a people to revindicate its indepen- 



114 FRANCE AND ITALY 

dence and withdraw it from foreign oppression. It 
is a sacred cause which has the sympathies of the 
civilized world. I do not need to stimulate your 
ardor, each station will remind you of a victory. In 
the Sacred Way of old Eome the marble was 
crowded with inscriptions recalling to the people its 
lofty deeds ; so, to-day, in passing by Mondovi, Ma- 
rengo, Lodi, Castiglione, Areola, Rivoli, you will be 
marching in another sacred way, amidst its glorious 
memories. 

" Preserve that severe discipline which is the honor 
of the French army. Do not forget that here there 
are no enemies but those who fight against you. In 
battle remain compact, and do not abandon your 
ranks to rush forward. Mistrust too great enthu- 
siasm, it is the only thing I dread. The new 
weapons of precision are only dangerous from a dis- 
tance. They do not prevent the bayonet from being, 
as of old, the terrible weapon of the French infantry. 

" Soldiers ! let us all do our duty and put our 
entire confidence in God. The country expects 
much from you. Already these words of good omen 
are heard from one end of France to the other, 
' The new army of Italy will be worthy of her elder 
sister.' " 

In the evening, the Emperor goes to the Carlo 
Felice theatre, where a gala representation is given 
in his honor. All along the streets through which 
he passes — rue Balbi, Place de I'Annunziata, via 
Nuovissima — the houses are draped and illuminated. 



GENOA AND ALEXANDRIA 115 

When he enters the theatre there is a real frenzy. 
Three times, after having saluted the crowd, he 
attempts to sit down, and three times the renewal 
of applause keeps him standing in his box. He 
finally takes his seat, with Prince de Carignan on 
his right and Prince Napoleon on his left. Count 
Cavour, Count Nigra, and M. Morro, syndic of Genoa, 
remain standing behind him. His friend. Count 
Arese, one of the most fervent partisans of Italian 
independence, is one of those who come to meet him. 
"My dear Arese," the Emperor says to him, "we 
ought to thank God for having permitted the Em- 
peror of Austria to cross the Tessin, for otherwise 
how could I be here ? " 

The next day. May 13, at six o'clock in the 
morning, Victor Emmanuel arrives incognito at 
Genoa to shake hands with his ally. The King 
places himself under the orders of the Emperor, who 
is in command of the French and Sardinian armies. 
The two sovereigns embrace each other warmly. 
Some hours later Victor Emmanuel returns to his 
own headquarters at Occimiano, between Casale and 
Valenza. 

In the course of the day the Emperor, accom- 
panied by two officers only, makes a long excursion, 
sometimes on foot and again in a carriage, on the 
Alexandria roads, the faubourgs of Rivarole, rue 
San Antonio, etc. He is received with remarkable 
enthusiasm on his unexpected visit to these quar- 
ters, for the most part poor ones. 



116 FRANCE AND ITALY 

May 14. — At two o'clock Napoleon III. leaves 
Genoa to go by rail to Alexandria, where he is to 
establish his headquarters. The train crosses the 
Bormida River, leaving to the left the celebrated 
plain where the battle of Marengo was fought, and 
enters the station of Alexandria at four o'clock. 
The Emperor mounts a horse as soon as he leaves 
the train, and goes to the Palais-Royal, escorted by 
several squadrons of cavalry, and amidst a tumult- 
uous ovation. At the exit of the station, on two 
columns, is an inscription reproducing the imperial 
words : " The object of this war is to restore Italy 
to herself, and not to make her change masters ; we 
shall have on our frontiers a friendly people which 
will owe to us its independence. Let France arm 
and resolutely say: I want no conquests, but I 
proudly avow my sympathy for a people whose his- 
tory is blended with my own." On the Piazzetta 
there is a bust of Napoleon I., and at the entrance 
of the Strada della Pierra a triumphal arch with this 
inscription : " To the heir of the victor of Marengo ; 
to the ally of Victor Emmanuel." The Piazza Larga^ 
where the Palais-Royal, the dwelling of Napoleon III., 
is situated, is thronged with people who keep up an 
incessant shouting. In the theatre that evening, an 
actor recites the following ode which the audience 
oblige him to repeat : " Hymn to Napoleon III. 
Sovereign of the greatest of peoples, valorous war- 
rior sent by God, sublime soul, noble heart, generous 
and pious, O great man, O powerful monarch, we 



GENOA AND ALEXANDRIA 117 



behold thee at last among us. Thanks to thee the 
right of peoples to independence is already recog- 
nized, and by us the unjust treaties by which men 
are divided into oppressors and oppressed will be 
destroyed. Thanks to thee, the sun of liberty will 
rise on Italy. Here, where the genius who gave 
his laws to the world, and whose name is the pride 
and glory of our time began to shine, within these 
walls whence the eagle took his radiant flight, 
France and Italy come to unite with each other in 
a single thought." 

Sunday^ May 13. — The Emperor, accompanied by 
Marshal Vaillant, Marshal Canrobert, and some offi- 
cers of his household, walks to Saint Peter's Cathedral. 
The national guard forms the line along his route. 
He is received by the clergy at the door of the 
church, and the Mass is celebrated by his chaplain, 
the Abbd Laine. On his exit, as on his entrance, 
the sovereign is cheered by an enthusiastic crowd. 



CHAPTER XVII 

MONTEBELLO 

TTTAR had been declared April 26, and as yet 
' not a shot had been fired. The first fight- 
ing took place, May 20, at Montebello. 

The allied army already occupied the entire line 
of the Po, without giving the least indication as to 
where it would probably cross the stream. The 1st 
and 2d French corps were established at the two 
extremes. General Forey, whose division formed 
the vanguard, had been expecting an early combat 
since the 6th of May. On that day he had addressed 
to his troops the following order of the day from 
Gavi : " Soldiers of the 1st division of the 1st corps, 
to-morrow we shall find ourselves in the first line, 
and it is probable that we shall have the honor of 
the first engagements with the enemy. Remember 
that yo«r fathers have always beaten this enemy, 
and you will do as they did." 

May 20, at half-past twelve. General Forey, being 
apprised that a strong column of Austrians, with 
cannon, had occupied Casteggio and driven back 
from Montebello the outguards of the Piedmontese 
cavalry, went immediately to the outposts on the 

118 



MONTEBELLO 119 



Montebello road with two battalions of the 74th. 
Meanwhile the rest of the division got under arms. 
An artillery battery marched at the head. 

The village of Montebello is built on the first 
eminence seen by one going from Tortona to Plai- 
sance. This hill has always been disputed in the 
fights which have taken place on the plains of Alex- 
andria. In the days of antiquity it gained its name 
— mount of war (mons belli) — from the combats 
delivered there. It was the scene of the rencontre 
between the Numidian cavalry of Hannibal and the 
advance guard of Scipio which preluded the battle 
of Trebbia. It was there, June 9, 1800, that Gen- 
eral Lannes, going to the rendezvous of Marengo, 
forced the passage defended by the Austrians, and 
merited by his valor the title of Due de Montebello, 
afterwards given him. With its natural defences, 
the solid masonry of its houses, its fortified cemetery, 
this famous village is a very strong position. The 
tall crops, the trees and vines, concealed the move- 
ments of the enemy, and had allowed him to advance 
without being seen. 

The Forey division was composed of four regi- 
ments of infantry, the 74th, 84th, 91st, and 98th, and 
a battalion of light infantry, the 17th, to which were 
joined six squadrons of Sardinian light cavalry, com- 
manded by Colonel Maurice de Sonnaz. All vied 
with each other in courage and high spirits. In 
spite of broken ground, cut up by ravines, obstructed 
by vineyards, and very difficult of access by cavalry, 



120 FRANCE AND ITALY 

the Sardinian light-horsemen made a heroic charge. 
On a sign from General Forey, the clarions sounded; 
the cry " Forward ! " came from every throat ; the 
French battalions sprang towards the heights and 
soon attained their summits. The village of Monte- 
bello had next to be attacked. It was not an easy 
task. The Austrians, ambushed behind the crenel- 
lated walls, rained a shower of balls upon the assail- 
ants. Every window had its sharpshooters, every 
house was a citadel to be taken. Dismounting, Gen- 
eral Forey placed himself, sword in hand, at the head 
of his troops. He was always seen in the most dan- 
gerous places ; balls whistled around him ; one might 
have thought the very grape-shot was daunted by 
such audacity. Even when the village had been 
surrounded, prodigies of valor were required to make 
a successful advance. An incessant series of hand-to- 
hand combats went on in the streets, the gardens, the 
very houses. It was at this moment that General 
Beuret received a glorious death. Forced to give 
way before the ardor and impetuosity of the French 
troops, whose bayonets were irresistible, the Aus- 
trians fell back into the cemetery where they made 
a fierce resistance. But this last position being 
finally wrested from them, they beat a retreat. It 
was half-past six o'clock. 

General Forey thought it imprudent to push the 
day's success further. He halted his troops behind 
the undulation of ground on which the cemetery is 
situated, protecting its crest by four pieces of artil- 



MONTEBELLO 121 



lery and numerous sharpshooters, who forced the 
hindmost Austrian columns into Casteggio. Soon 
afterwards they saw them evacuate the place, leaving 
a rear-guard, and withdrawing by the Casatisma road. 

At the close of the day, when the victorious general 
passed in front of his troops, he was received with 
unanimous cheers. Every man wanted to touch the 
hand of the intrepid leader who had given so noble 
an example. 

In his report to Marshal Baraguey d'Hilliers, 
commander-in-chief of the 1st corps, the general 
wrote : " I cannot praise too highly, M. le Mar^chal, 
the enthusiasm of our troops. . . . Nor can 1 forget 
the officers of my staff who seconded me perfectly. 
... I do not know the exact figure of our losses ; 
tliey were numerous, especially in superior officers, 
who exposed themselves greatly. I reckon them 
approximately at between six and seven hundred 
men killed or wounded. Those of the enemy must 
have been considerable, judging from the number 
of dead found, especially in the village of Monte- 
bello. We have made about two hundred prisoners, 
among whom are a colonel and several officers. A 
number of military Avagons have also fallen into our 
hands. For myself, M. le Mar^chal, I am glad that 
my division was the first to have an engagement 
with the enemy. This glorious baptism, which 
revives one of the great names of the Empire, will 
mark, I hope, one of the halting-places referred to in 
the order of the Emperor." 



122 FRANCE AND ITALY 

General Forey added in a postscript : " From 
what I learn from all quarters, the forces of the 
enemy could not have been less than from fifteen 
to eighteen thousand men ; and, if the prisoners are 
to be believed, they went beyond that figure." To 
contend against such forces, General Forey had had 
only his division, composed of five thousand nine 
hundred men, and six squadrons of Sardinian light- 
cavalry. Great joy was caused by this admirable 
feat of arms throughout Italy and France. This 
first success was a good omen. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

PALESTRO 

^T^PIE war began well. At the time when the 
battle of Montebello was going on, Garibaldi 
and his redshirted volunteers were distinguishing 
themselves in the neighborhood of Lake Majeur. 
They entered Como May 29, and the city placed 
itself under the government of King Victor Em- 
manuel. 

May 30, the King crossed the Sesia with four 
Sardinian divisions. The Durando division went 
in the direction of Vinzaglio, the Fanto and Cas- 
telborgo divisions towards Casalino and from there 
towards Confienza. The Cialdini division, which 
had established itself on the left bank the previous 
day, was charged with the principal attack, that on 
Palestro. This village was difficult of access. Cut 
into by canals and obstructed by temporary breast- 
works of trees, the road thither presented obstacles 
of every description. The ground on either side was 
laid out in rice-fields and divided by innumerable 
ditches, which rendered the attack very difficult. In 
front of Palestro, the river, with its banks covered 
with tall weeds, poplars, and willows ; to right and 

123 



124 FRANCE AND ITALY 

left of the river, wide, marshy meadows ; every 
declivity surrounding and dominating the road up 
to the entrance of the village supplied with troops ; 
Tyrolese chasseurs, chosen sharpshooters, stationed 
at regular intervals, hidden behind trees, crouching 
in the weeds ; the bridge occupied by numerous 
tirailleurs ; the heights forming on either side of the 
village two sorts of natural bastions at an elevation 
of about fifteen yards ; the first houses crenellated 
in order to make attack more difScult and permit 
the Austrians to send a plunging fire down upon 
the assailants, — such were the obstacles of every kind 
encountered by the Sardinian column detailed for 
the taking of Palestro. Led by Victor Emmanuel 
in person, it triumphed over all of them and seized 
the village. The other divisions simultaneously 
carried Vinzaglio and occupied Casalino and Con- 
fienza without resistance. The next day, the Aus- 
trians were to return the attack and in considerable 
force. 

When the Emperor had sent to Victor Emmanuel, 
May 29, the order containing merely these words : 
" The army of the King will take up its position in 
front of Palestro," he foresaw that the Sardinian 
sovereign would be forced to give several successive 
battles, and he placed at his disposal the 3d regi- 
ment of zouaves, momentarily detached from the 
5th corps. This regiment camped at Torrione, 
May 30. At six in the morning of May 31, it re- 
ceived orders from the King to move ou Palestro. 



PALE8TB0 125 



At nine o'clock it established its bivouac to the 
right of the village, in a plain covered with ripe 
grain and groups of trees, with the Calcina canal 
in front. Towards ten o'clock the Austrians de- 
bouched by the Robbio and Rozasco roads. The 
zouaves immediately took up their arms and moved 
some five hundred yards to their own right, where 
brisk firing had begun. They had taken down their 
tents and laid aside their knapsacks, and they con- 
cealed their approach in the first place by hiding in 
the grain and under a screen of poplars. Then, 
making a sudden rush from the brushwood, they 
sprang upon the enemy. 

Nothing stopped them, neither ditches nor the 
acacia thickets which scratched their faces, neither 
the marshy ground in which they sank to their knees 
nor the canal where they found the water up to their 
belts and sometimes up to their shoulders. Suddenly 
from the midst of the grain where the Tyrolese 
chasseurs were ambuscaded came an almost point- 
blank fusillade ; to the grape-shot, which threw their 
first ranks into disorder, the zouaves replied by yells, 
and without resorting to their weapons, climbed the 
hill covered with thick mud. 

" There is only a step between them and the mouth 
of the cannons," says the historic Journal of the 3d 
zouaves ; " the Austrian artillerymen, stupefied by 
such audacity, have not even time to fire. In vain 
they try to rake them down, the terrible bayonets of 
the zouaves pin down in their places those who 



126 FRANCE AND ITALY 

seek to defend themselves. The routed infantry- 
disperse in all directions. Five pieces of cannon 
are in our power." 

The zouaves next attack the road; some rush to 
the right, others escalade the cliffs to the left, and 
find themselves at once in a field of ploughed ground 
facing several Austrian battalions whom they attack 
with the bayonet. Just then they see King Victor 
Emmanuel galloping up, sabre in hand. The in- 
trepid monarch, followed by Sardinian battalions 
worthy of such a leader, plunges into the thickest of 
the fight. Near him. General de La Marmora has a 
horse grievously wounded. The fiery ardor of the 
sovereign electrifies the zouaves; they hurrah for 
him. 

The Austrians, hotly pursued, are driven as far 
as the Bridda River, traversed by a narrow bridge, 
the entrance of which they bar with two pieces of 
artillery. Some of the reserves are massed behind 
this bridge, and line the steep acclivities of the bank. 
The zouaves fling themselves on the bridge and 
seize the two pieces. A terrible hand-to-hand fight 
ensues. Many combatants are thrown into the 
stream. Some are drowned, others dashed to pieces 
in their fall. A number of Austrians save them- 
selves by swimming. The zouaves, who pity them, 
are seen descending the steep banks and holding 
out their carbines like fish-poles to draw them from 
the water. At the same time General Cialdini, who 
has been valiantly defending the village of Palestro, 



PALESTBO 127 

forces the enemy to retreat. They are repulsed at 
Confienza likewise, and fall back on Robbio. The 
victory is complete. 

Napoleon III., leaving his headquarters at Verceil, 
had followed in all haste the sound of the firing at 
Palestro. Victor Emmanuel acquaints him with the 
day's success. The zouaves get into line of battle 
on both sides of the bridge which has been the scene 
of a heroic struggle. The two monarchs pass through 
the ranks of intrepid soldiers who, still animated by 
the heat of combat, wave with powder-blackened 
hands their reeking carbines and shout: "Long live 
the Emperor ! Long live the King ! " 

Finding two mortally wounded Italian volunteers 
on the battlefield, Victor Emmanuel addressed them 
in affectionate terms. One of them answered, " Sire, 
I regret to die in the first battle," and the other, 
"Sire, deliver this poor Italy." In the evening this 
fine proclamation was issued by the King : " Soldiers, 
to-day a new and striking feat of arms has been sig- 
nalized by a new victory. The enemy attacked us 
vigorously at Palestro, bringing powerful forces to 
bear upon our right; the intention was to prevent 
our soldiers from joining those of Marshal Canrobert. 
The moment was supreme. Numerically our force 
was greatly inferior to that of the adversary, but the 
latter was confronted by the brave troops of the 4th 
division, under General Cialdini, and the incompara- 
ble 3d regiment of zouaves which, fighting to-day 
with the Sardinian army, has powerfully contributed 



128 FRANCE AND ITALY 

to the victory. . . . His Majesty the Emperor, on 
yisiting the field of battle, has expressed his most 
cordial felicitations, and he appreciates the immense 
advantage of this victory. Soldiers ! persevere in 
your sublime conduct, and I assure you that heaven 
will crown the work you have so courageously 
begun." 

A singular incident occurred the following day. 
We quote the description of it from a remarkable 
history of the campa,ign by Baron de Bazancourt, who 
had been summoned to the army of Italy by order 
of the Emperor : " A young officer of Sardinian 
cavalry, commissioned to escort the prisoners, pre- 
sented himself before Colonel de Chabron to receive 
those taken by the regiment of zouaves. Astonished 
to hear this Piedmontese officer expressing himself 
in French, with not the slightest trace of a foreign 
accent, the colonel questioned him concerning his 
nationalit3^ 'I am a Frenchman,' replied the sub- 
lieutenant of Sardinian cavalry. ' Your name ? ' ' De 
Chartres, colonel.' And, as the colonel looked at 
him attentively on hearing that name, he added 
simply, 'I am the son of the Duke of Orleans.' And 
bowing to the colonel, whose orders he had received, 
he withdrew. Colonel de Chabron, moved by this 
chance encounter, and the touching simplicity of 
the young man, already an orphan, and stricken by 
many great misfortunes, followed him with his eyes 
until he disappeared amidst the surrounding tents." 

The same day Victor Emmanuel addressed this 




FRANCIS JOSEPH 



PALESTRO 129 



letter to Colonel de Chabron : " From the principal 
headquarters, Torrione, June 1, 1859 : Colonel, the 
Emperor, in placing the 3d regiment of zouaves at 
my orders has shown me a precious testimony of 
friendship. It seemed to me that I could not give a 
better reception to this choice troop than by affording 
it an immediate occasion to add a new exploit to those 
which rendered the name of zouaves so formidable 
to the enemy on the battlefields of Africa and the 
Crimea. The irresistible vehemence with which 
your regiment marched to the attack yesterday ex- 
cited mj utmost admiration. To fall upon the 
enemy at the point of the bayonet, to seize a battery 
in the face of grape-shot, was the affair of a few 
minutes. You should be proud of commanding such 
soldiers, and they ought to be happy to obey a leader 
like you. I keenly appreciate the idea of your 
zouaves in bringing to my headquarters the pieces 
of artillery taken from the Austrians, and I beg you 
to convey my thanks to them. I shall make haste 
to despatch this fine trophy to H. M. the Emperor, 
whom I have already acquainted with the matchless 
bravery with which your regiment fought yesterday 
at Palestro and sustained my extreme right. I shall 
always be well satisfied to see the 3d regiment of 
zouaves fighting beside my soldiers and winning 
new laurels on the battlefields which still await us. 
Kindly acquaint your zouaves, colonel, with these 
sentiments. 

"YiCTOR Emmanuel." 



130 FBANCE AND ITALY 

The dynasty of Savoy is a race of heroes. In 
1823, during the Spanish War, the bravery of Charles- 
Albert, who was serving in the French army, excited 
the enthusiasm of the soldiers to such a point at the 
attack of Trocadero that they conferred upon him 
the epaulettes of a grenadier. When the battle of 
Palestro was over, his son, Victor Emmanuel, was 
proclaimed a corporal of zouaves by acclamation. 



CHAPTER XIX 

TURBIGO 

npHE effect of the two combats of Palestro was to 
disguise the reverse movement of the French 
army towards Novara, and its result to oblige the 
Austrian army to fall back on the Tessin and evacu- 
ate the territory of Piedmont. The allied army pur- 
sued them and made ready to cross the Tessin. 

June 2, the Emperor ordered General MacMahon 
to send the Espinasse division to occupy Trecata, on 
the Milan road, and General Camou, commander of 
the light infantry division of the guard, to march 
towards Robbio, on the left bank of the Tessin, to 
force the passage opposite Turbigo, and protect the 
establishment of a bridge of boats by which the 2d 
corps could be transported to the other bank the fol- 
lowing day. June 3, at eight o'clock in the morning, 
the 2d corps quitted Novara for Turbigo, a Lombard 
village nine kilometres from Buffalora, to cross the 
Tessin on this bridge. 

General MacMahon preceded his army corps with 
the officers of his staff, in order to reconnoitre the 
ground on which he might be called to operate. He 
reached the encampments of the light infantry of 
the guard detached to defend the approaches to the 

131 



132 FRANCE AND ITALY 

bridge at three o'clock ; then, after passing through 
Turbigo, he went to the village of Robechetto, two 
kilometres east of Turbigo, on the left bank of the 
Tessin. No enemies had yet been perceived when 
he arrived. Let us leave the tale to his chief of staff, 
General Lebrun, who says ; " At Robechetto he found 
out that it was difficult to get a good view of the 
ground, on account of the neighborhood of the vil- 
lage being covered with vines and trees. He went 
up to the top of the church steeple." MacMahon, 
on the platform of the steeple, had spread out a map 
of the country, and was looking at the horizon, when 
an Austrian column, apparently coming from Buffa- 
lora, advanced upon the village. It was not more 
than a few hundred yards away. 

General Lebrun adds : " We rushed to the stair- 
way of the steeple, and went down four steps at a 
time. Those who were behind shouted to those 
ahead of them, ' Go faster ! ' We were soon in 
the saddle when once we got out of the church. 
It was time ; two or three minutes more and the 
Austrians would have made a fine haul — a com- 
mander of a French army corps, his chief-of-staff, a 
general of division. General Camou, and the officers 
who accompanied them." 

To prevent the enemy from installing themselves 
at Robechetto was indispensable, both to protect the 
bivouacs and to ensure the execution of the subse- 
quent movement of the 2d corps on Buffalora and 
Magenta. Not a minute was to be lost. 



TtittniGO 13B 

MacMahon set off at full gallop and regained 
Turbigo, where he ordered a regiment of Algerian 
sharpshooters — the only one at his disposal for the 
moment — to march as quickly as possible on Robe- 
chetto, to repulse the enemy and occupy the village. 

At the same instant, the Emperor, who had just 
been visiting the great bridge of San Martino, arrived 
at Turbigo, and in one of the houses crownijig the 
plateau to the north of the road, gave General Camou 
orders to march the light infantry of the guard to 
the outlets of the canal, south of Turbigo, so as to 
reinforce the troops of General MaclMahon. 

The Algerian sharpshooters — the Turcos, as they 
are called — are about to be launched into the fire. 
General de La Motterouge passes in front of their 
three battalions, and addresses them in a few ener- 
getic words which, immediately translated into Arabic 
by Colonel Laure, electrify them. The general him- 
self heads the centre battalion, and gives the signal 
of departure with his lifted sword. The point of 
direction is the church steeple of Robechetto. Noth- 
ing could be more impetuous than this attack made 
on the double-quick. Uttering their war-cries in 
their sharp and guttural voices, the Algerian sharp- 
shooters advance to the music of the regimental air, 
" When the Turcos march to combat." In an instant 
they envelop Robechetto. In ten minutes the enemy, 
dislodged from the village, beat a retreat along the 
road by which they came. Nevertheless, they keep 
on using their artillery as they go, sending back a 



134 FRANCE AND ITALY 



dozen volleys of grape which do not abate in the 
least the furious ardor of the Turcos. General 
Auger comes up with four pieces of artillery, and 
vigorously returns their fire. Thinking tliey see an 
Austrian piece among the wheat, which seems to 
have some difficulty in following the retreat, they 
rush at it on the gallop, seize it and sabre the 
artillerymen. 

The head of an Austrian cavalry column, comiug 
from Castano, simultaneously presents itself on the 
left. A battalion of the 65th goes at once to meet 
it with two pieces of cannon, and drives it back the 
way it came. 

The fighting was over at five o'clock. General 
MacMahon addressed his report to the Emperor the 
same day. " The enemy," said he, " has experienced 
considerable losses. The battlefield is covered with 
tlieir dead, and a considerable quantity of effects of 
all descriptions which they have left in our hands : 
cam}) equipages, full knapsacks thrown down on the 
scene of combat in order to flee with greater agility. 
We have picked up weapons, carbines, and muskets. 
We have made few prisoners, a fact explained by the 
nature of the ground on which the engagement took 
place. . . . 

" I cannot as yet give precise details concerning 
this affair which has once more since the campaign 
begun shown all that Your Majesty may expect from 
your brave soldiers. . . . All have done their duty 
worthily: but T will nt ont^e mention General de La 



TURBIGO 135 



Mottei'ouge to Your Majesty as having manifested 
irresistible impetuosity ; General Auger who, by the 
terms of our military legislation, merits a citation 
to the general order of the army ; Colonel Laveau- 
coupet who, in a hand-to-hand fight with the Aus- 
trian sharpshooters, received a bayonet wound in the 
head ; Colonel Laure, of the Algerian sharpsliooters, 
for the intelligent impetus with which he led his 
battalions at the enemy." 

General Lebrun saw an affecting sight after the 
combat in the street which runs through the village 
of Robechetto. The Abb(5 Bragier, chaplain of the 
2d corps, was on his knees amongst the wounded, 
attending to the duties of his ministry; among these 
were soldiers of the 45th of tlie Line, Austrian chas- 
seurs and Turcos, all of whom were stretching their 
hands out to him and kissing his. The compas- 
sionate AbbilJ lavished consolations upon all, without 
regard to religion or nationality. Raffet had prom- 
ised the general to take this scene as the subject of 
one of his works, but death carried him off too soon. 

The battle of Robeclietto, which afterwards took 
the name of the neighboring locality and was called 
the battle of Turbigo, had done great honor to Gen- 
eral de La Motterouge and the two regiments of his 
division, the Algerian tirailleurs and the 45th of the 
line, which had taken part in it. It inaugurated 
gloriously the operations which were to make the 
2d army corps iliustiious in the sequel of the cam- 
paign. 



CHAPTER XX 

THE BATTLE OF MAGBNTAi 

n^HE 4th of June had been decided on by Na- 
poleon III. as the day for takmg definitive 
possession of the left bank of the Tessin. General 
MacMahon's corps, the 2d, reinforced by the light 
infantry division of the guard, and followed by 
the entire army of the King of Sardinia, was to move 
from Turbigo on Buffalora and Magenta, the divi- 
sion of grenadiers of the guard seizing meanwhile 
the head of the bridge of San Martino on the left 
bank, and the 3d corps, under Marshal Canrobert, 
advancing along the right bank so as to cross the 
Tessin at the same point. The 4th corps, com- 
manded by General Niel, was also to make its way 
towards the Tessin. The 1st corps, that of Mar- 
shal Baraguey d'Hilliers, was held in reserve. 

However, on the morning of June 4, no one in 
the French army anticipated a great battle on that 
day. The Emperor, who was at Novara, breakfasted 
there at his usual hour. After breakfast, he went 
to San Martino where the grenadiers and zouaves 
of his guard, who were to open the fight, were sta- 
tioned. 

138 



THE BATTLE OF MAGENTA 137 

At ten in the morning, the 2d corps, com- 
manded by General MacMahon and composed of 
two divisions, that of General de I^a Motterouge 
and that of General Espinasse, to which was joined 
the light infantry division of the guard, under com- 
mand of General Camou, started from Turbigo for 
Magenta. The La Motterouge division and the 
Espinasse division took different routes. The first 
collided with several Austrian detachments at Casata 
and repulsed them. The Emperor heard the firing 
from the bridge of San Martino, and at once ordered 
his guard to attack the banks of the grand canal, the 
Naviglio Cfrande. 

The division of the guard, which was about to ac- 
complish prodigies of valor, included three regiments 
of grenadiers and a regiment of zouaves. Com- 
manded by General Mellinet, with two brigadier 
generals, De Wimpffen and Cler, under him, it 
comprised but five thousand men. During five hours 
these were to resist the attack of about forty thou- 
sand Austrians. 

Now let us glance at the scene of this heroic 
resistance. 

An army going from Piedmont into Lombardy 
finds two redoubtable obstacles in its way, the Tessin 
and the Naviglio G-rande. 

The Tessin is a large river whose abundant waters, 
swift as those of a torrent, are intercepted by wooded 
islands. 

The Naviglio Grrande is a very deep canal, about 



138 FRANCE AND ITALY 

sixteen yards in width and situated some two or 
three kilometers from Tessin, whose banks are lined 
with acacia hedges. It is protected by high embank- 
ments. 

On the left bank of the Tessin there is a little 
village containing but few houses. It is called San 
Martino. Here is the bridge which must be crossed 
in going to Buffalora. 

Buffalora is a village of sixteen hundred inhabit- 
ants, situated on the Naviglio Grande, twenty-seven 
kilometers from Milan. The two parts of the village 
are united by a bridge. On the right are two villages, 
or rather, two groups of houses, one of which is 
known as Ponte Nuova di Magenta, and the other as 
Ponte Vecchio di Magenta, with two bridges across 
the Naviglio Grande. These three bridges, the rail- 
way station, the houses and the hills, are occupied by 
Austrians with more than one hundred thousand 
men to defend these formidable positions. Their 
commander-in-chief confidently expected to cut off 
the French army from the bridge of San Martino, 
to isolate in this way all who had crossed the Tessin 
and to compel the 2d corps and the King's army 
to fall back precipitately on Turbigo in order to re- 
new communication with the remainder of the army. 
Such was the plan which the intrepidity of the 
French troops was to bring to naught. 

General Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angely, com- 
mander-in-chief of the guard, carries the Emperor's 
orders into execution. He sends the Wimpffen bri- 



THE BATTLE OF MAGENTA 139 

gade against Buffalora. The Cler brigade follows 
the movement. They promptly carry Buffalora and 
the heights bordering the Naviglio Grande. But 
then they find themselves facing considerable masses 
which they cannot break through and which impede 
their progress. Chiefs and soldiers rival each other 
in heroism. General Cler, one of the most distin- 
guished officers of the army, meets a glorious death 
in leading the zouaves of the guard to the charge. 
General Mellinet has two horses killed under him. 
General de Wirapffen is wounded in the face in con- 
ducting the attack of the right. 

Notwithstanding the sublime efforts of the guard, 
it will end by being destroyed if reinforcements do 
not arrive. The day does not promise well for the 
French army. The march of the 3d and 4th corps 
is hindered by the obstacles presented by ground 
intersected by irrigating canals and covered by 
mulberry trees, poplars, and willows. Their 
columns, forced to stretch out indefinitely on the 
causeways, the marshy state of the soil often render- 
ing the side paths impracticable, advance with diffi- 
culty. The army of King Victor Emmanuel is 
delayed in its passage of the Tessin, and only one of 
its divisions is able to follow at a distance the corps 
of General MacMahon. 

The Emperor, still at the bridge of San Martino, 
experiences unutterable anguish. He no longer 
hears the cannon of the 2d corps in the distance. 
Can General MacMahon have been repulsed, and is 



140 FRANCE AND ITALY 

the division of tlie guard to bear the whole brunt of 
the enemy's attack? 

Colonel Raoult, chief of staff of the imperial guard, 
comes to tell the Emperor, on behalf of General 
Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angely, that the forces of 
the enemy are momently increasing and that he can- 
not hold out unless he receives reinforcements. "I 
have none to send him," replies Napoleon III., with 
calmness ; " tell him to hold on with the few he has 
left." 

" It was essential to the success of the day," the 
commander-in-chief of the guard will say in his report 
to the Emperor, " to protect the access to the bridge 
over the Naviglio so as to permit the army corps of 
General Niel and of Marshal Canrobert to fall upon 
the enemy as soon as they should arrive. Your 
Majesty directed an energetic defence to be made 
while awaiting the approaching reinforcements. The 
orders of Your Majesty were executed; the zouaves 
and grenadiers of the 3d as well as those of the 
1st regiment, who had come to their assistance, 
resisted all attacks in the posts confided to them." 
What heroism in this simple and temperate language ! 

What had happened to General MacMahon, and 
why were the guns of the 2d corps still silent? 
At the village of Cuggione, General Lebrun, chief of 
staff, having ascended the church steeple, observed 
that considerable movements of Austrian troops were 
going on between Buffalora and Magenta. He went 
down very quickly and said to General MacMahon : 



THE BATTLE OF MAGENTA 141 

" There is a great battle in preparation just now. 
Unless we wish to risk being thrown into the Tessin 
by troops much superior to any we can oppose to 
them, there is only time enough to concentrate the 
two divisions of your army corps and the light infan- 
try division of the guard." General MacMahon 
replied: "I am going to look for the Espinasse 
division myself." And he darted off like an arrow, 
followed by only a few horsemen. At breakneck 
speed he crossed vineyards, fields, and ditches, barely 
escaped being taken prisoner by the enemies, thanks 
to the speed of his horse, and at last reached General 
Espinasse. " Make haste," said he, and the regiment 
took the road from Buffalora to Cuggione. It re- 
joined those of General de La Motterouge and Gen- 
eral Camou. The concentration was effected, and 
the three divisions advanced upon Magenta. 

"The 2d army corps," General Lebrun has 
said, " in marching resolutely but alone upon 
Magenta, was exposing itself to the greatest 
dangers. For, towards four o'clock in the afternoon, 
the division of grenadiers of the imperial guard, which 
the Emperor was near, had not yet been able, in 
spite of its glorious and frequently renewed attacks, 
to force the passage of the canal (the Naviglio 
Grande) neither before the tunnel of the railway, nor 
before the Ponte Nuova di Magenta. The Austrian 
forces defending the crossings of the canal were 
sufficiently numerous and strongly established to 
keep up their resistance for a good while longer." 



142 FRANCE AND ITALY 

While General MacMahon was marching on 
Magenta with no forces but his four divisions, some 
troops had finally come to the assistance of the 
division of the guard. At last the dark uniforms of 
the light infantry and the red pantaloons of the line 
came into sight along the railway embankment. It 
was one of the brigades of the 3d corps, the 
Picard, which was coming in haste with Marshal 
Canrobert. In company with the zouaves and the 
grenadiers it performed prodigies of valor. The 
village of Ponte di Magenta, after being taken and 
retaken three times, had still to be defended against 
the return of the Austrians. General Picard, Colonel 
Bellecourt of the 85th, and many other officers, set- 
ting an example of pluck and tenacity to the troops, 
made them retake it once more. Marshal Canrobert 
has written in his report to the Emperor : " The 
enemy realized the importance of this point, which, 
had it remained in their power, would have brought 
them on the very flank of our line of communication 
with the bridge of Tessin. This explains their 
tenacity in the successive attacks, and the irresistible 
vehemence of ours in the renewed attempts to take 
the position." 

The Marshal adds : " The Jannin brigade, led by 
General Renault, was finally able to debouch and 
move quickly on the Austrian line, resting on Ponte 
di Magenta, in that part of the village which is on 
the left bank of the Naviglio Grande canal. Several 
times taken and retaken, this portion of the village, 



THE BATTLE OF MAGENTA 143 

isolated by the Naviglio bridge, which the enemy had 
blown up, remains in possession of General Renault, 
who has definitively established himself there." 

Now let us return to General MacMahon. His 
troops begin to march about four o'clock, with the 
church steeple of Magenta as their point of direction. 
It is on this march that the 3d zouaves seize an 
Austrian flag, a feat which earns for this regiment 
the pleasure of seeing their own flag decorated with 
the cross of the Legion of Honor a few days later. 
The moment is solemn; the fate of the battle is 
about to be determined. Just then General Lebrun 
says to MacMahon : " The trees and vines prevent 
our battalions from seeing each other; but if they 
hear the drums beating and the trumpets sounding 
to right and left of them, they will understand that 
they are shoulder to shoulder, and then they will 
have no anxiety; they will go on marching with 
entire confidence." MacMahon takes the advice of 
his chief of staff. The drums beat, the trumpets 
blow their warlike flourish. When the three divi- 
sions. La Motterouge, Espinasse, and Camou, are 
within three or four hundred yards of Magenta, 
they are a compact mass able to defy the Austrian 
forces who occupy the railway station, the ap- 
proaches and the interior of the city. 

On the left, the Espinasse division rushes upon 
the street at the entry of Magenta, known as the 
rue de Marcallo. 

On the right, the La Motterouge division attacks 



144 FRANCE AND ITALY 

the principal entrance by which the highway of Buf- 
falora and Magenta passes into the town. 

In the centre, the Camou division attacks the ap- 
proaches to the station. 

All the houses at the entrances of Magenta and the 
station are occupied by Austrian forces who bravely 
resist the assailants. 

The intrepid General Espinasse, trying to force the 
entrance of rue de Marcallo, in front of him, wishes to 
set an example to his troops. He places himself at 
the head of the 2d zouaves and fights like a private 
soldier. His horse stumbles in stamping on corpses 
in a pool of blood. " One can't keep up on this shift- 
ing soil," says he, and alights, imitated by his orderly 
officer. Lieutenant de Froidefond, and his fanion- 
bearer, Count Horace de Choiseul. M. de Froide- 
fond has scarcely left his horse when he falls, 
mortally wounded. 

The most deadly firing comes from a large house of 
several stories at the left corner of the street. It is 
occupied by three hundred Tyrolese whose aim is won- 
derfully correct. " Whatever it costs us, that house 
must be taken," shouts General Espinasse. " Come 
on, zouaves, break in the door ! " The zouaves make 
a rush, presenting themselves as targets to the rifles 
of the Tyrolese, who fire point-blank. The door the 
zouaves are trying to break resists their efforts. 
Thereupon the General strikes the blind of a window 
on the ground floor with the pommel of his sword, 
and cries : " Go in through there ! " At that very 



THE BATTLE OF MAGENTA 145 

instant there conies through the window against 
which he is leaning a rifle shot which lays him dead 
on the ground. 

Roaring like lions, the zouaves rush at the window 
and shiver it into pieces. At last they are masters of 
the house. General de Castagny takes the place of 
General Espinasse, and, under a rain of fire, leads the 
zouaves to the public square. There the Castagny 
brigade (2d zouaves, 1st and 2d foreign regiments) 
is rejoined by the Gault brigade (11th battalion of 
chasseurs, 71st and 72d of the line), which had made 
its attack on the opposite side by the road from Buf- 
falora to Milan. 

While the two brigades of the Espinasse have been 
penetrating into Magenta, the La Motterouge division 
has carried the part of the town in front of it with no 
less vigor. Arriving by a sunken road, enfiladed by 
two pieces of Austrian artillery, the 65th of the line, 
under Colonel Drouhot, debouches in front of the 
railway station. The sharpest sort of firing from the 
crenellated buildings occupied by thousands of Aus- 
trian sharpshooters does not arrest its impetuous 
march. Within a few minutes it has seized the sta- 
tion and the two cannon intended for its defence. 
Not contented with this first success. Colonel Drouhot 
makes a rush for the city, followed by his flag, which 
is floating in the front ranks. The firing is redoubled. 
The brave colonel falls mortally wounded. The flag 
is riddled with balls and grape-shot; the handle is 
broken into four pieces. 



146 FBANCE AND ITALY 

Two French cannon arrive at this moment ; under 
their protection, the 65th is at last able to make its 
way into the streets opening before them. 

The 70th of the line, sent to the right of Magenta, 
after crossing the railroad finds itself confronted by 
formidable obstacles. A number of Austrian battal- 
ions are intrenched in the church, the neighboring 
houses, and behind thick, crenellated walls. Two 
battalions of the regiment Moi des Beiges occupy the 
middle of the cemetery, whence they receive the 
French attacks in flank. The soldiers are fighting 
hand to hand in the courts and inside the houses ; 
and the presbyterj^, the church, and the cemetery 
are not taken until after a bitter contest, which is 
prolonged until night. 

The 45th of the line and the Algerian tirailleurs, 
reaching the edge of the deep ditch beside the rail- 
road, have rallied the 52d, crossed the obstacle, and, 
mingling with the 65th and the 70th, assisted glori- 
ously in the taking of the station, the church, and the 
neighboring houses. The division of voltigeurs of 
the guard has also lent powerful assistance. 

It is eight o'clock in the evening. Some Austrian 
detachments, intrenched and barricaded in the houses, 
still keep up a vigorous defence. But they are soon 
forced to lay down their arms. Thousands of prison- 
ers and several cannon are the trophies of the 2d 
corps. 

The success is not less decisive at Ponte Vecchio, 
at the other extremity of the battlefield. At the 



THE BATTLE OF MAGENTA 147 

head of the 86th of the line, General Vinoy has seized 
this village, situated on the left bank of the Naviglio 
Grande. 

General Anger's artillery, established along the 
railway tracks, decimates the Austrian columns, 
which, unable to rally, beat a hasty retreat towards 
Castellano and Corbetto. 

The victory is complete. The enemy, whose losses 
are estimated at twenty thousand men killed or 
wounded, has left four cannon, two flags, and seven 
thousand prisoners in the hands of the victors. The 
great battles of the First Empire had not been more 
glorious. 



CHAPTER XXI 

THE MOEROW OF MAGENTA 

n^HROUGHOUT the battle, Napoleon III. had 
kept within reach of his guard, hurrying up the 
reinforcements, and directing them in proportion to 
their arrival at the points most severely menaced. 
He did not hear until late in the evening of the tak- 
ing of Magenta and the complete victory of his troops ; 
he then established his headquarters at San Martino, 
that little group of houses which scarcely deserves 
the name of a village. He lodged in a wretched inn, 
where, after a long talk with Marshal Canrobert, he 
threw himself, all dressed, on a carter's bed for a few 
minutes of repose. But he soon got up again. The 
officers of his military household, who had lain down 
in the open air, some on bundles of hay, some on 
sacks of maize, could see him by the light of the soli- 
tary candle burning in his chamber, sometimes walk- 
ing up and down, sometimes leaning his elbows on 
the wooden table to read the reports which he re- 
ceived, and addressing to the Empress the bulletin of 
victory. 

The victor of Magenta — he deserves that title, 
since he was the commander-in-chief — triumphed 

148 



THE MORBOW OF MAGENTA 149 

modestly, more like a philosopher than a warrior. 
Until then, all he had known of war was its epic nar- 
ratives. Now, he saw its horrors close at hand, and 
his sensitive, compassionate soul suffered. On one 
hand, he considered the cause for which he had taken 
up arms as just and civilizing. But on the other 
hand, he could not escape the knowledge that he was 
largely responsible for the torrents of blood which had 
been shed. This reflection disturbed in him the 
friend of the people, the humanitarian sovereign, and 
on the morrow of his triumph his countenance re- 
tained the impress of his habitual melancholy, deep- 
ened by the bitter remembrance of the perplexities 
and wretchedness of the battle. He knew, moreover, 
that the war was barely yet begun, and the existing 
hecatombs made him forebode those which were to 
come. He thought of all those whose death would be 
made known at the same time as the victory ; of Gen- 
eral Espinasse, his aide-de-camp, and friend, and con- 
fidant; his Minister of the Interior and of Public 
Security on the morrow of the Orsini attempt; of 
General Cler, concerning whom Marshal Canrobert 
said : " Cler has everything, — intelligence, audacity, 
activity, a body of iron, an indefatigable soul, the 
temperament, the knowledge, and the aptitudes of the 
profession " ; of two accomplished superior officers. 
Colonel de Senneville, Canrobert's chief of staff, and 
Lieutenant-Colonel de La Bonniniere de Beaumont, 
deputy chief of staff to MacMahon ; of Colonels 
Drouhot of the 65th of the line, Charlier of the 90th, 



150 FRANCE AND ITALY 

de Chabriere of the 2d foreign regiment, all of whom 
had been gloriously slain at the head of their troops. 
He thought of many promising officers mowed down 
in the flower of youth. Possibly, since he loved the 
poor and the humble, he thought still more about the 
private soldiers, most of them absolutely without pros- 
pect of advancement, who had sacrificed their lives 
like heroes without other recompense than the satis- 
faction of duty fulfilled. Occasionally a cruel doubt 
presented itself, and the crowned thinker asked him- 
self whether war, which Joseph de Maistre considered 
a divine thing, is not in reality an infernal one. 

At San Martino the ambulances were near the 
Emperor's headquarters, and next door to the inn 
where he lodged was a large house which served as a 
depot for prisoners. At dawn on June 6, the troops 
had ceased defiling upon the bridge. Nothing was 
in sight but mule ambulances and carts transporting 
the wounded. 

During the morning Napoleon III. was called on by 
Victor Emmanuel, who regretted extremely that his 
troops had arrived too late. He afterwards examined 
the banks of the Tessin in person so as to supervise 
the establishment of the boat-bridges himself. The 
commander-in-chief of the imperial guard had his 
headquarters on the left bank of the river. As soon 
as the Emperor caught sight of him he hastened to 
meet him, and, shaking his hand with evident emo- 
tion, he said: "General, yesterday you and the im- 
perial guard deserved well of France." 



THE MORROW OF MAGENTA 151 

June 6. — Napoleon III. transferred his headquarters 
from San Martmo to Magenta. At seven o'clock in 
the morning he mounted his horse and went over the 
whole of the battlefield, followed by his entire staff. 
The story is told by the Marquis de Massa, an eye- 
witness: " It was easy to read on the countenance of 
Napoleon III. the painful impression he received from 
so dearly bought a victory. And so full of abnega- 
tion were these chosen souls that I have heard the 
wounded themselves, when he was expressing his in- 
terest in them, seek to reassure him by saying : ' It 
won't amount to anything, we shall be better ! We 
shall come back all the same to go at it again.' 

" There was a moment when the litter-bearers had 
to stand aside to allow a vehicle to pass in which 
were two dead bodies. Coming near it, the Emperor 
at once took off his hat with signs of deep distress. 
He had recognized the corpse of General Espinasse, 
side by side with his orderly officer. Ensign Froide- 
fond. As he contemplated the inanimate counte- 
nance of the valiant general whom he had intended 
to make a marshal of France, the loyal adherent who 
had served him so well in Paris on the day of the 
coup d^JEtat, and on African, Crimean, and Italian 
battlefields, he murmured, ' poor Espinasse,' and his 
eyes filled with tears." 

Just as he reached the Naviglio Grande canal, on 
either bank of which his troops had performed prodi- 
gies of valor, the sovereign perceived General 
MacMahon who was coming to meet him, and gave 



152 FRANCE AND ITALY 

him the most flattering reception. He congratulated 
him warmly on the taking of Magenta, which had de- 
cided the final success of the day, and kept him at his 
side all the rest of the way. When they had entered 
in this manner the town which had been the scene of 
such bloody combats two days before. Napoleon III. 
said to MacMahon : " I make you Marshal of France 
and Duke of Magenta." Very much affected, the 
new marshal was overwhelmed by gratitude. 

General Fleury and the other aides-de-camp of the 
Emperor greatly regretted that he should have done 
nothing for General Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angely, 
the commander-in-chief of his guard. Fleury says : 
" When we were installed at Magenta, His Majesty 
was fatigued and suffering a little, and sent us word 
that he would not come to table with us. We had 
been sitting for some minutes in complete silence, 
every one thinking to himself what no one dared to 
say aloud. Convinced that I must take the initiative 
on this occasion as on so many others, and tell my 
sovereign the truth, I left the table without a word 
and went upstairs to the Emperor's room : — 'I hope 
Your Majesty will forgive me for disturbing your re- 
pose, but I think I shall be doing my duty by laying 
before you certain reflections suggested by the double 
distinction just accorded to General MacMahon. 
Sire, it was not he who gained the battle. You are 
the victor of Magenta; you were in command. It 
was the imperial guard, your own guard, which de- 
cided the fate of the army by its indomitable bravery. 



THE MOEBOW OF MAGENTA 153 

. . . Not to recompense the superior officer of the 
guard would be to allow Europe to suppose that the 
imperial guard did not even see the battle.' " 

When General Fleury stopped talking, the Em- 
peror replied: "You are right. I had not thought 
of the question in that light. Go tell General 
Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angely that I appoint 
him Marshal of France. And at the same time tell 
General de Wimpffen that I make him general of 
division." 

A moment later, General Fleury said to an equerry 
of the Emperor, son-in-law of the new marshal : 
"Davillier, come with me to tell your father-in-law 
the good news," And they both set off at full 
gallop. 

Napoleon III. had divested himself of his own vic- 
tory to attribute the chief merit of it to MacMahon. 



CHAPTER XXII 

THE ENTRY INTO MILAN 

TTpROM Magenta, when the weather is fine, one 
can see the bell-towers and steeples of the Milan 
cathedral, the Duomo, that mass of marble white as 
mountain snows. Throughout the battle of the 4th 
of June, the Milanese population had listened with 
anxiety to the noise of the cannonading. They 
knew that the independence of Italy was then at 
stake. Their emotion was full of anguish. Night 
came and they were still uncertain as to the decree 
of destiny, and the crowd thronging the streets and 
squares awaited news with feverish impatience. At 
a very late hour a horseman made his appearance 
at the Vercellina gate and flung the mere words, 
" The Austrians are beaten," into the different 
groups. Perhaps the news was false. People hesi- 
tated to believe it. 

There was no room for doubt by daybreak. The 
Austrians, encamped on the Castle Square, were 
folding their tents and making ready to depart. 
During the day they vanished. At once Italian and 
French flags floated from the house windows, and 
the whole population prepared to give their libera- 
tors an enthusiastic welcome. 

154 



TEE ENTRY INTO MILAN 155 



In the evening of June 6, Marshal MacMahon 
received the following order: "The 2d corps will 
have the honor of entering Milan to-morrow at the 
head of the French army. The Emperor himself 
will lead this army corps. In execution of this 
order, the troops of the 2d corps will quit their 
barracks at San Pietro I'Olmo and march towards 
Milan. They will set off early on June 7. Between 
nine and ten o'clock in the morning they will unite 
before Milan, their head of column established at 
the foot of the arch of triumph erected at the 
entrance of the capital of the kingdom of Italy in 
honor of Napoleon I., and to the glory of his armies." 

Listen to the chief of staff of the 2d corps. Gen- 
eral Lebrun: "The monument is grandiose; the 
sculptures decorating it are magnificent. After the 
arch of triumph in the Place de I'Etoile at Paris, an 
edifice resplendent with all the glories of the First 
Empire, there is not a more imposing arch of triumph 
in the world than that of Milan. 

" On arriving at the foot of the monument, Mar- 
shal MacMahon got off his horse and threw himself 
down on the ground to rest and wait for the Em- 
peror. It would not be easy to enumerate the 
ovations given him by the inhabitants from San 
Pietro rOlmo to Milan. When the Milanese saw 
him lying down and looking at their glorious arch 
of triumph, they began and kept up an incessant 
round of applause." 

Meanwhile, the marshal ordered his chief of staff, 



156 FBANCE AND ITALY 

General Lebrun, to go into the city and settle upon 
the sites where the troops should establish their 
bivouacs in the evening. At the moment when the 
general was passing through the largest of the 
streets, an innumerable crowd which was waiting 
for the Emperor took him for Napoleon III. and 
threw down an avalanche of flowers upon him from 
the balconies. "I saw women of the people," said 
he, "and great ladies also, who were on the pave- 
ments, spring towards me, and, at the risk of being 
crushed under the feet of my horse, seize my hands 
to press them ; some went so far, must I say it, as to 
cover my boots with their kisses." 

Towards eleven o'clock in the morning, the Em- 
peror apprised Marshal MacMahon that as Victor 
Emmanuel had not yet arrived, he would not make 
his entry until the next day, with the King beside 
him. 

June 8. — The imperial guard, which camped at 
Cava Piobetta, four kilometres from Milan, received 
orders to march towards the Lombard capital and 
wait for the Emperor before the outer gate, called 
the Porta VercelUna. It was believed that the two 
sovereigns would not arrive until eleven o'clock. 
They came three hours sooner. 

" The imperial guard, under command of Marshal 
Kegnaud de Saint-Jean d'Ang^ly," says the Marquis 
de Massa, " is massed upon the grand place of arms. 
From every window lorgnettes are bent upon the 
grenadiers whose high bearskin caps, long cloaks, 



THE ENTRY INTO MILAN 157 

white belts crossed on the breast, recall their pred- 
ecessors of the First Empire whose traditions they 
have just revived. The new ones have held their 
own at Magenta as the old ones did at Friedland. 
In front of them the silhouette of their chief of divi- 
sion, General Mellinet, who has had two horses killed 
under him in the hottest of the fight, defines itself. 
A hot sunbeam striking across his masculine profile 
brings his cheekbone into high relief, and underneath 
it a deep cavity marks the trace of the ball which 
ploughed his cheek at the siege of Sebastopol. Gen- 
eral Camou's light infantry division rests on his left. 
Opposite this infantry deploys our brigade, guides, 
and chasseurs." 

The cortege approaches. At the head the detach- 
ment of the hundred guards ; next Napoleon III. with 
Victor Emmanuel on his left ; at some distance be- 
hind them, their two staffs ; closing the march a 
mixed escort composed of a squadron of guides 
and a squadron of light horsemen from No vara; in 
front of the latter the Duke of Chartres, General 
La Marmora's orderly officer. 

The cortege arrives opposite the triumphal arch of 
Milan which is usually surrounded by enormous iron 
chains connected by high stone pillars. Never had 
any troop whatever passed underneath the arch, this 
interdiction having been decided upon by the munici- 
pality at the time of its erection. But this time the 
authorities have made an exception to the rule, the 
iron chains have been removed; the Emperor and 



158 FRANCE AND ITALY 

the King are going to pass under the arch of 
triumph. 

The two sovereigns cross the city amidst the uni- 
versal enthusiasm. Napoleon III. goes to the Bona- 
parte villa which is to serve as his residence, from 
there he issues the following proclamation: — 

" Italians ! the fortune of war leads me to-day into 
the capital of Lombardy. I am going to tell you 
why I am here. 

" When Austria unjustly attacked Piedmont, I 
resolved to support my ally, the King of Sardinia: 
the honor and the interests of France made this 
my duty. Your enemies, who are also mine, have 
sought to diminish the existing sympathy in Europe 
for your cause by seeking to make it believed that 
I am going to war through motives of personal 
ambition. 

"If there are men who do not comprehend their 
epoch, I am not one of them. In the enlightened 
state of public opinion, one is greater to-day by the 
moral influence he exerts than by barren conquests, 
and I proudly seek this moral influence in endeav- 
oring to free one of the most beautiful portions of 
Europe. Your welcome has already proved that you 
have not misapprehended me. 

" I do not come here with a preconceived system 
for dispossessing sovereigns, nor to impose my will 
upon you ; my army will concern itself with two 
things only: with combating your enemies and 



THE ENTRY INTO MILAN 159 

maintaining internal order; it will put no obstacle 
to the free manifestation of your legitimate desires. 

"Providence sometimes favors peoples as well as 
individuals by giving them an opportunity to grow 
greater suddenly ; but on condition that they are able 
to profit by it. Profit then by the chance presented 
to you. Your desire for independence, disappointed 
for so long, will be realized if you show yourselves 
worthy of it. 

" Unite, then, in a single aim : the enfranchisement 
of your country. Organize yourselves in military 
fashion. Make haste to enroll yourselves under the 
standards of King Victor Emmanuel who has so nobly 
pointed out to you the road to honor. Remember 
that there can be no army without discipline, and, 
animated by the sacred ardor of patriotism, be noth- 
ing now but soldiers; to-morrow you will be free 
citizens of a great country. 

"Done at the imperial headquarters of Milan, 
June 8, 1859. — Napoleon." 

The Emperor was not without anxieties in the 
midst of his triumph. He had just learned that at 
Melegnano, fifteen kilometers from Milan, the Aus- 
trians were fortifying themselves and possibly in- 
tended to make an offensive return against the 
Lombard capital. Consequently he had ordered the 
1st and 2d corps to move as fast as possible upon 
Melegnano. He had scarcely arrived at the Bona- 
parte villa when he mounted a horse and went to 



160 FRANCE AND ITALY 

assure himself that Marshal MacMahon and his 
troops had begun to march. He reached the exte- 
rior ramparts without being recognized, for the 
passers-by could not suppose that this unescorted 
horseman might be the Emperor. But, on his 
return, the crowd had learned that it was he, and 
gave him an indescribable ovation. 

In the course of the same day. Napoleon III. 
addressed this proclamation to his army: "Sol- 
diers, a month ago, relying on the efforts of diplo- 
macy, I was still hoping for peace, when the sudden 
invasion of Piedmont by Austrian troops summoned 
us to arms. We were not ready ; men, horses, mate- 
rial, provisions, were lacking, and, to assist our allies, 
we were forced to march in haste and by small instal- 
ments beyond the Alps, to meet a redoubtable enemy 
long in readiness. The danger was great, the energy 
of the nation and your courage made up for every- 
thing. France has found again her ancient virtues, 
and, united in a single aim as in a single sentiment, 
she has displayed the abundance of her resources and 
the strength of her patriotism. Here it is, but ten 
days since operations began, and Piedmontese terri- 
tory is already freed from its invaders. The allied 
army has given four successful battles and gained a 
decisive victory which has opened to it the capital 
of Lombardy. You have disabled more than thirty- 
five thousand Austrians, taken seventeen cannon, 
two flags, and eight thousand prisoners, but all is 
not yet ended; we shall still have combats to main- 



THE ENTRY INTO MILAN 161 

tain, obstacles to overcome. I rely on you, brave 
soldiers of the army of Italy ! From the heights of 
heaven your fathers look down on you with pride." 

At that very moment when this proclamation ap- 
peared, the troops of Marshal Baraguey d'Hilliers, 
united to those of Marshal MacMahon, were fighting 
at Melegnano. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

MELEGNANO 

~\ /TARS HAL Baraguey d'Hilliers regretted deeply 
that the 1st army corps, of which he was the 
chief, had not had the honor of taking part in the 
battle of Magenta. He made up for it, June 8, in 
fighting that of Melegnano. 

Melegnano (Marignan) is a little village of three 
thousand souls, situated fifteen kilometers southeast 
of Milan. It was there that in 1515, Francois Pre- 
mier gained a memorable victory over the Swiss 
which is known as the battle of giants. 

When Napoleon III. learned that the Austrians 
were retiring towards Lodi but still occupied Me- 
legnano, he resolved to dislodge them, and gave the 
job to the 1st and 2d corps. The operations were 
to be directed by Marshal Baraguey d'Hilliers, with 
Marshal MacMahon under him. 

The 1st corps left its bivouac at San Pietro I'Olmo 
very early in the morning of June 8, to go to Me- 
legnano, twenty-eight kilometers distant. The 1st 
division was commanded by General Forey, the 2d 
by General de Ladmirault, the 3d by General 

162 



MELEGNANO 163 



Bazaine. They began marching, the first at four 
o'clock, the 2d at five, the 3d at six. 

All three went first to Milan, which they crossed 
in all haste, amidst an enthusiastic crowd who del- 
uged them with flowers and wreaths. They left 
the city by the Porta Romana and turned towards 
Melegnano. Each went by a different road. It 
was the 3d — the Bazaine division — which went 
by the highroad, a causeway twenty meters in 
width, bordered by ditches full of water, from eight 
to ten meters wide, across which stone bridges with 
parapets give at intervals access into the fields. 

To right and left the ground is cut up by a large 
number of ditches and irrigating canals. Meadows, 
wheatfields, thick hedges, and a great many trees 
covered its surface. 

The Bazaine division, to which was reserved the 
honor of being first to attack the positions of Me- 
legnano, was far ahead of the other two divisions, 
which were often halted by ditches, or retarded by 
the windings of side roads. It reached San Giuliano 
at five in the evening, and at a quarter of six was 
in sight of Melegnano, about a kilometer away. 

Prudence would have counselled a halt until the 
Forey and Ladmirault divisions should come up, 
and a combined movement with the troops of the 
2d corps which, at no great distance, was making 
ready to manoeuvre on the rear of the enemy. But 
Marshal Baraguey d'Hilliers was impatient to make 
the powder talk. 



164 FRANCE AND ITALY 

It is nearly six o'clock, and the Bazaine division 
has been marching for twelve hours. The marshal 
orders the attack to be begun. At once a company 
of zouaves, acting as a vanguard, deploys on either 
side of the road as tirailleurs. 

The Austrians have only the Roden and the Boer 
brigades to defend the city, but they occupy excel- 
lent positions ; their artillery enfilades the road by 
which the French are coming. Remnants of ancient 
fortifications, hedges, gardens, and farms give them se- 
cure shelter. The majority of the houses looking down 
on the principal avenues are barricaded and supplied 
with defenders. Braving the grape-shot, the 1st 
zouaves, followed by the 33d and 34th of the line, 
attack with extreme impetuosity. The Austrians 
have furnished the houses at the entrance of the city, 
the cutting of the road, and the cemetery with a swarm 
of sharpshooters, but all in vain ; in vain they make 
a valiant resistance in the streets, at the castle, be- 
hind the hedges and the garden walls ; they cannot 
withstand the dash of the intrepid General Bazaine 
and his admirable division. 

General Goze, commandant of the 1st brigade, and 
Colonel Paulze d'lvoy, at the head of his regiment, 
the 1st zouaves, precede and launch the assaulting 
columns. All the officers, with lifted swords, march 
in front of their soldiers. It is at the old castle that 
the Austrians have concentrated their principal ef- 
forts, for it is there that their movement of retreat 
upon Lodi and Pavia might be intercepted by the 



MELEGNANO 165 



French troops. All along the walls they have made 
loopholes through which they rain a plunging fire. 

Here come the 1st zouaves debouching on the open 
place of the old castle. A rolling fire of musketry 
from the windows does not daunt their ardor. While 
some rush into the castle, chasing out the Austrians 
and taking their places, others, led on by Colonel 
Paulze d'lvoy, go through the gate leading to the 
Carpiano suburb. At this moment the brave colonel, 
who has not ceased to animate his zouaves by word, 
gesture, and example, and whose horse has just been 
killed under him, falls, mortally wounded by a bullet 
in the head, close to a church which stands in a cor- 
ner of the square. The zouaves avenge him by seiz- 
ing the first houses of the suburb, and, being too few 
in number to drive the enemy any further, lie in wait 
there while expecting reinforcements. 

Meanwhile, the 33d of the line is forcing the 
enemy back. In one of the offensive returns of the 
Austrians, its flag, in danger for an instant, but heroi- 
cally defended, has its staff broken. 

A violent storm which has long been threatening 
breaks above the scene of combat and deluges it with 
a torrent of rain. The roar of the thunder mingles 
with the roar of battle. The wind howls furiously. 

Marshal Baraguey d'Hilliers is in the centre of the 
action, on the church square. His flag-bearer, Quar- 
termaster Franchetti, is wounded at his side. 

The 2d division, which had rejoined the troops of 
the 3d at the Lambro bridge, and had at first been 



166 FRANCE AND ITALY 

arrested by the depth of the water and the steepness 
of the banks, has contrived to continue its march, and 
contributes greatly to the final success. 

As to the 1st division, that of General Forey, it 
had been unable to take part in the fight. Forming 
a column of his first brigade, the General had pushed 
on to Riozzo the T4th of the line, the 84th, and the 
17th battalion of chasseurs ; but the ditches filled 
with water, the cuttings of the roads and the storm 
had delayed them, and they had been unable to go 
further than the Landriano road. As they had been 
marching since four in the morning, General Forey 
called a halt. Shortly after he received orders from 
Marshal Baraguey d'Hilliers to enter Melegnano, 
which his division reached at half-past ten in the 
evening. 

Now consider the part played by the 2d army 
corps, that of Marshal MacMahon. After quitting 
the highroad it moved upon the extreme right and 
the rear of the enemy, as had been agreed upon by the 
two marshals. The 2d division, commanded by 
General Decaen, arrived at Mediglia towards four in 
the afternoon, followed at a great distance by the 1st 
division, that of General de La Motterouge, delayed 
by having to ford the Lambro and by the bad roads. 

The Decaen division had camped at Balbiano when 
the cannon of the 1st corps made it resume and 
hasten its march. Six battalions, taken by Marshal 
MacMahon from the two brigades, were at once re- 
united under arms, without knapsacks, and moved 



MELEGNANO 167 



forward, followed by the artillery. This column, on 
reaching the Mulazzano road, turned to the right, and 
advanced in a line formed by the massed battalions, 
across meadows difficult of access. The two batter- 
ies of the division were then placed in position, and 
in spite of the approaching nightfall, in spite of the 
raging storm, they managed to send several balls after 
the Austrian columns retreating along the Lodi road. 

To sum up, the victors of Melegnano were Marshal 
Baraguey d'Hilliers, General de Ladmirault and Gen- 
eral Bazaine. Seldom has a battle been more bloody. 
In his report to the Emperor the Marshal wrote : 
" The losses of the enemy are considerable ; the 
streets and the grounds contiguous to the city are 
covered with their dead ; twelve hundred wounded 
Austrians have been carried in our ambulances ; we 
have made between eight hundred and nine hundred 
prisoners and taken a cannon. Our losses amount to 
nine hundred and forty-three men killed or wounded ; 
but, as in all the previous engagements, the officers 
have been stricken in large proportion ; General 
Bazaine and General Goze have been bruised ; the 
colonel of the 1st zouaves has been killed ; the colo- 
nel and the lieutenant-colonel of the 33d have been 
wounded ; in all there are thirteen officers killed and 
fifty-six wounded." 

Alas ! among those who had fallen never to rise 
again, how many still carried in their caps or their 
buttonholes the flowers which the Milanese women 
had thrown to them that morning ! 



CHAPTER XXIV 

BEFORE SOLFERINO 

XDEAS of triumph and ideas of death met and 
contended in the mind of Napoleon III. At nine 
o'clock in the morning of the 9th of June he went to 
see Marshal Baraguey d'Hilliers at Melegnano, and 
could not look without anguish at the relics of the 
carnage of the previous day. Two hours later, he 
was back at Milan to be present at the chanting of 
the Te Deum in the cathedral. 

It is eleven o'clock. All the church bells in the 
city are jangling. The drums beat the general ; the 
bugles sound. From Bonaparte villa, where the Em- 
peror lodges, as far as the cathedral — the Duomo as 
it is called — the imperial guard forms a double line 
in following the Corso. Old tapestries, hangings of 
silk and velvet, gold fringes blending with the long 
folds of the flags, cover the walls and droop from the 
windows. 

The imperial and royal cortege approaches. At 
the head are the hundred-guards. Napoleon III. and 
Victor Emmanuel come into view at the extremity 
of the Corso, followed by their brilliant staffs. A 
rain of flowers falls upon the sovereigns. Milan has 

168 



BEFORE SOLFEBINO 169 

laid its gardens waste and robbed its parterres ; a per- 
fumed carpet covers the pavements of the Lombard 
city. In every window, every balcony, are green 
branches, plaited wreaths, jflower petals massed in 
baskets held by the young girls of Milan as if for 
the Corpus Christi processions. At one moment the 
Emperor's horse and that of the King, becoming the 
target for all the flowery projectiles, begin to prance, 
and the sovereigns signify to the fair Milanese that 
a trifle more moderation in their transports of enthu- 
siasm would be agreeable. 

The cortege arrives in front of the white marble 
cathedral, outlining itself majestically against the 
blue Italian sky, with the inexhaustible wealth of 
its sculptured ornamentation, the multitude of its 
staircases and terraces, the audacious spring of its 
central pyramid, around which is graduated a pro- 
digious forest of turrets, spires, and innumerable 
statues. 

With his white mitre on, the coadjutor-archbishop, 
M. Caccia, attended by canons, receives the sov- 
ereigns at the threshold of the edifice. With excel- 
lent taste, the walls of this magnificent church, next 
to Saint Peter's at Rome the largest in the world, 
have not been disfigured with draperies. Its mosaic 
pavement should not be hidden by carpets, nor the 
five naves, their pointed arches, their columns and 
festoons of marble, by hangings. 

Old inhabitants of Milan are thinking of the cere- 
mony which took place in this very sanctuary fifty- 



170 FRANCE AND ITALY 

four years ago. Napoleon was crowned here, May 
26, 1805, with as much pomp as he had been at Notre 
Dame of Paris six months before. After Cardinal 
Caprara had blessed the iron crown with the sacra- 
mental words formerly used in crowning Germanic 
emperors as Italian kings, the great man, placing it 
on his own head, as he had placed that of the 
Emperor of the French, pronounced with extreme 
energy these sacramental words : Dio me Vha data^ 
quai a ehi la toccherd, God has given it to me, woe to 
him who touches it. That is what these old Milan- 
ese are thinking of as they watch the heir of the 
victor of Austerlitz making his entry into the 
Duomo. 

All day and all the evening the city keeps holiday. 
The Marquis de Massa, an eye-witness, thus describes 
it: " The restaurants at dinner time would never have 
been able to accommodate their customers if private 
individuals, posted at their doorways, had not in- 
vited, on the hint of the epaulette, as many guests as 
their tables could contain. . . . Some persons — I 
was one of them — had reserved tables in the open 
air in the garden of the Alhergo Marino^ where we 
met again, for the most part between habitues of the 
Maison d'Or or the Caf6 Anglais, General de Fer- 
ton with Artus Talon, his orderly officer ; General 
Douay with Gallifet, lieutenant of spahis, arrived 
from Africa the day before, spite of winds and tides ; 
De Cools and Octave de Bastard, staff-captains ; Bor- 
relli, ensign of chasseurs, etc. ' Hold on, what, is 



BEFORE SOLFERINO 171 

that you ? ' — ' Does that astonish you ? ' — 'I heard 
you were dead.' — ' Not yet, and you ? ' — ' Nor I 
either, as you see.' — ' Here's to your health, 
then ! ' — 'To yours ! ' And the corks of Asti 
wine bottles flew into the air, mingling their dry 
report with that of the fire-crackers in the street." 

The war! What a medley of joys and sorrows, 
of intoxicating thoughts and bitter ones ! While at 
Milan officers and soldiers were in high glee, at 
Melegnano they were making doleful reflections on 
the possibly useless carnage of the previous day. 
After a fight so bloody, preceded by so long a march, 
they had not even been able to rest. " The evening 
and night of June 8-9," writes General Lebrun, 
" was a dreadful time for the 2d army corps. Rain 
never stopped falling all the evening ; it did stop at 
night ; but our wretched soldiers, wet to the bone, 
bivouacking in fields covered with water, unable 
either to lie down or to light fires, never rested for 
a moment. I remember that on the narrow causeway 
where Marshal MacMahon and I found ourselves, 
the Marshal, like another Turenne, lay down on the 
carriage of a cannon. The ground of the causeway 
was covered with mud between three and four inches 
thick. For my part, after wrapping myself in my 
rubber cloak, I stretched myself on the mud, with 
half the length of my legs hanging over the dike, 
above the little canal which bordered it." 

It was impossible not to think that Baraguey d'Hil- 
liers had been in too great a hurry to attack. General 



172 FRANCE AND ITALY 

Fleury wrote from Milan, June 10 : " If the Marshal 
had put off his attack until next day, he would have 
acted with the combined column of Marshal Mac- 
Mahon and General Niel, and would have obtained 
as certain a success without wasting so many men. 
It is evident that the Austrians, seeing their wings 
threatened, would have quickly decided to retreat. 
We were at Melegnano yesterday, and the Marshal's 
army, though proud of its success, seemed to me, 
nevertheless, somewhat disheartened. The Emperor 
has strongly advised against any more of these use- 
less feats of strength. The zouaves, for their share, 
have thirty-eight officers disabled. Now I must 
admit, from the strategic point of view, that the 
object has been attained, although too violently. 
The Austrians instantly evacuated Lodi." 

Throughout the 9th of June, at the very moment 
when religious chants were resounding at Milan 
beneath the arches of the Duomo, where they were 
intoning the Te Deum, the road from Melegnano 
to the Lombard capital presented a sorry spectacle. 
The more wealthy Milanese families had sent their 
carriages to seek the wounded of the previous day 
and bring them to their houses, transformed for the 
time being into hospitals. These carriages came back 
slowly ; on their silken cushions officers and soldiers 
were lying whose blood-spotted uniforms were still 
adorned with flowers. 

In the evening. Napoleon III. and Victor Emman- 
uel, acclaimed with frenzy by a crowd intoxicated 



BEFORE SOLFERIJSfO 173 

with joy and enthusiasm, were present at a full-dress 
representation at the Scala theatre. 

The allied army remained the 9th and 10th of 
June in the positions which they occupied the 8th : 
the 1st, 2d and 3d corps at Melegnano and its 
neighborhood; the imperial guard, the 3d army 
corps, and the King's army at Milan. The troops 
needed rest, and the Emperor time to prepare the 
indispensable material means for overcoming the 
obstacles which the army would encounter on its 
route. They would have to cross successively all 
the affluents of the left bank of the Po, descending 
from the solid mass of the Alps : the Adda, the Serio, 
the Oglio, the Mella, the Chiesa, before reaching the 
banks of the Mincio, and it was certain that the 
retreating enemy would blow up the bridges and 
employ every effort to retard the march of the 
allies. 

Napoleon III. left Milan for Melegnano in the morn- 
ing of June 10. He knew that the Austrians had evac- 
uated Lodi and other important positions. The 9th, 
the Duchess of Parma, jdelding to the force of events, 
had been obliged to leave the duchy where she held 
the regency in the name of her young son. The 
10th, Plaisance was abandoned, and the Austrians, 
blowing up the forts and block-houses, tore down with 
their own hands the works they had accumulated 
before this place, surrounded with a ring of ramparts, 
and sjjiked such cannons as they could not load upon 
barges or tow by steamers. On the 11th they burned 



174 FRANCE AND ITALY 

the Adda bridge and evacuated Pizzighettone. 
The same day, the allied army started to pursue 
them. 

The imperial guard, resuming its rOle as a re- 
serve, did not leave Milan until the next day, to 
go to Gorgonzola, where the Emperor established 
his headquarters. 

The army corps marched at a distance of about 
three and a half leagues from each other. The clog- 
ging of the roads, the dust, the heat, the streams to 
cross, rendered the march difficult and painful. It 
was no mean enterprise to move forward, in the face 
of the enemy, six army corps : — the 1st, 2d, 3d, 
4th corps, the imperial guard, and the four divisions 
of the Sardinian army, — concentrated in a restricted 
place and ready to rejoin each other in a solid mass 
at a given signal. 

Between the 12th and the 14th of June, the allies 
crossed the Adda, the Sardinians at Vaprio, the 
French at Cassano, and there, as at the Sesia and 
the Tessin, the pontoon men, under the skilful direc- 
tion of General Lebceuf, gained new titles to the 
gratitude of the army. 

The 18th, the allied troops took their cantonments 
around Brescia. The Emperor and the guard occu- 
pied the city which, renowned for its patriotism and 
courage, gave the liberating sovereign an enthusiastic 
reception. All the streets were draped and a rain of 
flowers descended. 

The 19th and 20th of June were days of rest. The 



BEFOBE SOLFEBIJSfO 175 

combatants of Magenta and Melegnano received the 
rewards they had merited. 

At noon on the 19th, the 2d zouaves were under 
arms. Marshal MacMahon arrived, followed by his 
staff, and the square was formed. " Soldiers of the 
2d zouaves," said he, "the Emperor, desiring to 
retain the customs of the First Empire, has decreed 
that the eagles of a regiment which has captured an 
enemy's flag shall be decorated with the Legion of 
Honor. Zouaves ! you all deserve a recompense, for 
all of you have displayed valor. Your fathers who 
behold you are proud of you. The flag of your regi- 
ment is the first of the army of Italy to be decorated, 
I am glad that it should be in the 2d army corps, 
which I command, that such an honor should be paid, 
and I am proud that it should be you, soldiers of the 
2d zouaves, whose reputation has not been belied 
either in the Crimea, in Africa, or at Magenta, who 
have deserved it." 

Then advancing towards the flag, the Marshal 
saluted it, and added : " Eagle of the 2d regiment 
of zouaves, be proud of thy soldiers ; in the name of 
the Emperor, and by the power devolved on me, I 
give thee the cross of the Legion of Honor." Then 
he fastened to the eagle the red ribbon from which 
depended the cross, and shouts of: "Long live the 
Emperor ! Long live the Marshal ! " resounded. 

The army was rejoined the same day, at Brescia, 
by a cavalry division of the guard, commanded by 
General Morris, which, having come by the Corniche 



176 FRANCE AND ITALY 

road, had been delayed later than the other troops. 
It was welcome. 

The army resumed its march on the 21st. On this 
side of the Chiesa, two kilometers from Montechiaro, 
stretches a vast, barren plain which seemed likely 
to be a battlefield where the Austrian could easily 
deploy their superb cavalry. This provision was not 
realized. Continuing their retreat they recrossed the 
Chiesa, which the allies were also able to cross with- 
out resistance. 

The decisive moment was approaching. They 
were nearing the boundaries of Lombardy, to find 
themselves facing the famous quadrilateral which, 
formed by the four strongholds of Peschiera, Mantua, 
Legnano, and Verona, is bordered on one side by an 
important river, the Mincio, and on the other by the 
States of the Germanic Confederation. For the Aus- 
trians it was a formidable base of operations. 

Arriving at Verona as early as the 30th of May, 
and assisted by Baron Hess, his general chief-of-staff, 
Francis Joseph had taken command of his reorganized 
army. His intention in making his troops evacuate 
Plaisance, Pizzighettone, Pavia, Cremona, Ancona, 
Bologna, Ferrara, was to concentrate all his forces 
on the Mincio. He had reunited them into two 
armies, both under his own orders, but commanded, 
the one by Count Wimpffen and the other by Count 
Schlick. Count Giulay had been relieved of his com- 
mand. The Emperor Francis Joseph established his 
headquarters at Villafranca. The ensemble of his 



BEFORE SOLFEBINO 177 

troops comprised an actual effective force of one 
hundred and sixty thousand men, a total nearly- 
equal to that of the Franco-Sardinian army. The 
Austrian sovereign had thought at first of taking 
the offensive beyond the Mincio and the Chiesa; 
but he had given up the idea, being unwilling to 
risk a battle with the Mincio behind him, even 
with the great number of bridges at his disposal. 
The recollection of 1848 decided him to follow the 
example of Field-Marshal Radetzky, and he had just 
ordered his troops to fall back behind the Mincio to 
await the enemy from the centre of the quadrilateral 
and there resume the offensive as the famous Aus- 
trian soldier had done in other days. 

Meanwhile the Franco-Sardinian army continued 
its march, amazed at meeting no enemies on its route, 
and wondering what the schemes of Francis Joseph 
might be. This forward march occasioned great 
fatigues and great difficulties. 

Listen to General Fleury ; — 

"The weather is very hot. The army begins to 
dwindle greatly. The marches, short for a staff, are 
very long for the army corps, which necessarily fol- 
low nearly always the same route in moving to 
right and left ; hence stoppages almost impossible to 
avoid, needless fatigues, delays of two or three hours 
for poor fellows loaded like donkeys, and who have 
eaten scarcely anything. . . . The food question is 
almost the very first, which is to say that the great 
art of feeding an army enables one to bring more 



178 FRANCE AND ITALY 

men to a given day than liis enemy, and consequently 
to have a success. ... I think this war will end by 
the loss of our morals. Every one profits by it : one 
for his advancement, the other for his glory; but 
one deplores the deaths, one regrets the soldiers sac- 
rificed for a cause not easily comprehensible by the 
majority of the army." 

The letter written by the General to his wife on 
the eve of the battle of Solferino is full of melan- 
choly and sadness : " For the last two days we have 
been at Montechiaro, very badly lodged. I have just 
spent a frightful night. At one o'clock in the morn- 
ing I was sleeping profoundly when Conneau, his 
face disturbed, entered my chamber, followed by a 
valet de chambre carrying a torch, and said to me in 
a sepulchral tone : ' General de Cotte is dead ! ' I 
had just left him before lying down. ... I could not 
believe my ears. Finally the valet told me that he 
had just taken him some despatches, and that after 
reading two or three, De Cotte sank down saying, 
'I see nothing more,' and that he fell back dead as 
quickly as the extinction of a candle makes you pass 
from light to darkness. When I apprised the Em- 
peror of this news on his awakening, he seemed 
thunderstruck. Truly it is a heartbreaking end for a 
soldier to die like that, when the cannon might at 
least have given him a glorious death ! " 

During the day. Napoleon went to Lonato in a 
carriage to see Victor Emmanuel. He visited Desen- 
zano on Lake Garda. General Fleury says : " There 



BEFORE SOLFEBINO 179 

is no finer sight tlian tliese mountains and this blue 
and quiet water which seems saying to you : ' Why 
all this destruction? Why so many dead? Come 
rather to enjoy peacefully my lovely sights and my 
coolness ! ' " 

To this philosophic reflection the General adds : 
"My idea is that the Emperor is already fatigued 
by so many material difficulties, and is reconsidering 
at a longer range the notion of commanding a great 
army. I think the sight of the wounded and the 
dead has been painful to him when reflecting that 
so many heroes have allowed themselves to be killed 
for a people which does not love us, and for a cause 
whose future is so doubtful and impenetrable. I 
think, in fine, that the war he had dreamed of in all 
its glory has become so hazardous for him that he 
knows very well that the telegraph which carried 
you the news of the victory of Magenta narrowly 
missed taking that of a disastrous defeat. The 
Emperor has not reflected on all this without recog- 
nizing that his stake is too great for the result he is 
pursuing, and without becoming quite ready morally 
to limit his winnings in the game he is playing on 
the green cloth of Lombardy." 

It was learned the same day, June 23, that the 
Austrians had actually retreated beyond the Mincio, 
abandoning the heights between Lonato and Volta. 
Whereupon Napoleon III. resolved to take his army 
there on the 24th. Still, no one believed that the 
great battle would be fought on that day, and it was 



180 FRANCE AND ITALY 

supposed tliat the Austrian Emperor would wait in 
the centre of the quadrilateral for the Franco-Sar- 
dinian army. It was not known that for the third or 
fourth time Francis Joseph had changed his plan 
and concluded to go to meet his enemies or else to 
maintain a purely defensive attitude. Strategic mo- 
tives and political considerations had brought about 
the modification which suddenly took place in tlie 
sovereign's resolutions. 

Garibaldi and General Cialdini, with more than 
twenty thousand men, were threatening to debouch 
into the valley of the upper Adige, and by exciting 
troubles in the Tyrol might make the Austrians 
anxious about their right wing. 

A flotilla of French gunboats intended to assist in 
the siege of Peschiera was in course of construction 
at Desenzano and might soon be launched on Lake 
Garda. 

The 5th French army corps, that of Prince Napo- 
leon, reinforced by a Tuscan division, was advancing 
upon the Austrian left wing. 

Finally, the French fleet of the Adriatic was mak- 
ing ready to land a corps of troops in the lagoons of 
Venice. 

The Emperor Francis Joseph feared that the quad- 
rilateral, strong though it was, might find it difficult 
to withstand a fourfold attack, from Garibaldi and 
General Cialdini on the north, the Franco-Sardinian 
grand army on the west, Prince Napoleon on the 
south, and the French fleet on the east. 



BEFOBE SOLFERINO 181 

On the other hand, he had received at his head- 
quarters a Prussian note, dated June 14, which had 
driven him to the conclusion that unless he gained 
an immediate military success Prussia and the entire 
Germanic Confederation would not decide in his 
favor. These various reasons determined him to take 
the offensive. He reflected, moreover, that in case of 
defeat, he would always have time enough to recross 
the Mincio and intrench himself behind the strong 
barrier of the Adige, in the camp of Verona. He se- 
lected troops on June 24 to occupy the positions of 
Lonato and Castiglione, where he believed they would 
find none but feeble French detachments. 

The evening of June 23, the headquarters of the 
first Austrian army were established at Lonato, the 
second at Volta, and the imperial one at Valeggio. 

Napoleon III. had given orders for his own troops 
and those of the King to move between two and three 
o'clock in the morning. Without knowing it, the 
two armies were marching to meet each other. This 
meeting brought about the battle of Solferino. 



CHAPTER XXV 

THE BATTLE OF SOLFERINO 

^T^HE allied army leaves its bivouacs between two 
and three o'clock in the morning, and advances 
in four columns to reach the positions it is to occupy 
during the day. Its scouts will presently come into 
collision with the enemy's outposts along the entire 
front of the line of march. 

The Emperor has spent the night at Montechiaro. 
He had intended to leave there at seven in the morn- 
ing. But he will go sooner. Towards half-past five, 
just as the members of his military household have 
assembled in the little church to pay the last honors 
to his aide-de-camp, General de Cotte, two staff offi- 
cers, one of them sent by Marshal Baraguey d'Hil- 
liers and the otiier by Marshal MacMahon, come up 
at full gallop. They announce to Napoleon III. that 
the enemy is deploying strong columns on the heights 
of Solferino and Cavriana, that the 1st corps (Bara- 
guey d'Hilliers) and the 2d (MacMahon) are con- 
fronted in the plain by considerable masses who 
dispute the ground with them, that the 4th corps 
(General Niel) and the 3d (Marshal Canrobert) are 
still a long way off, but that their cannon are heard 
in the direction of Medoli and of Castello Goffredo. 

182 



TRE BATTLE OF SOLFERINO 183 

The Emperor at once sends orders to the infantry 
of the guard to accelerate its movement on Castigli- 
one, to the cavalry of the guard to go at a trot to the 
field of battle and deploy in the plain between the 
2d and the 4th corps. Then he enters a postchaise 
with Generals de Martimprey, de Montebello, and 
Fleury. His military household and his escort fol- 
low him at a gallop. Arriving at half-past seven at 
Castiglione, which is built on an eminence, he goes 
up to the top of the church steeple whence he can 
take in the horizon at a glance. " It is a general 
battle," he exclaims. Then he goes, at the utmost 
speed of his horse, to give his orders in person to 
Marshal Baraguey d'Hilliers and the Duke of 
Magenta. 

It is the 1st corps, commanded by Marshal Bara- 
guey d'Hilliers, which, with its three divisions of 
infantry (1st, General Forey ; 2d, General de Lad- 
mirault; 3d, General Bazaine), is ordered to attack 
the village of Solferino. 

Solferino is a market-town of Lombardy, situated 
near the right bank of the Mincio, hard by Peschiera 
to the north and Mantua on the south, and four kilo- 
meters to the southeast of Castiglione. From the 
latter city a considerable chain of hills carries several 
hamlets on its flanks, then undergoes a slight depres- 
sion, and presently rises in two mamelons. One is 
called the mamelon of Cypresses, and the other makes 
room on its summit for a cemetery, a church, and an 
old chateau. Between the two, on an eminence, rises 



184 FBANCE AND ITALY 

the celebrated tower called the tS'jjia d' Italia, the 
Hope of Italy. 

The Forey and Ladmirault divisions advance in 
parallel lines on Solferino : the first on the right, at- 
tacking Mount F^nile, the second on the left, 
taking away from the enemy the first hills of his 
position. 

The occupation of Mount F^nile by the 84th of the 
line permits a battery to establish itself there and pro- 
tect the movement of General Dieu's brigade which 
descends the rear slope of Mount F^nile and goes 
towards Solferino, chasing from crest to crest the 
troops of the enemy, whose numbers incessantl}'" in- 
crease. This brigade takes position in face of supe- 
rior forces, and directs the fire of its artillery upon the 
mamelon of Cypresses and the height crowned by the 
tSpia d' Italia. While the cannonading is in progress, 
General Dieu receives a wound which will be mortal, 
and resigns the command of his brigade to Colonel 
de Cambriels, of the 84th. 

On the left. General Ladmirault has succeeded in 
placing his four pieces of cannon in battery, and 
their firing facilitates the combined attack of Gen- 
erals F^lix Douay and de Negrier. 

General Ladmirault leads the assault himself. 
Touched in the shoulder by a bullet, he withdraws 
for a moment to have his wound attended to : then 
he resumes command and sends forward his four 
battalions of reserve. Struck by another shot, he is 
obliged to yield his command to General de Ndgrier. 



THE BATTLE OF SOLFEBINO 185 

The Emperor arrives at the summit of Mount 
Fdnile. Thence embracing the whole extent of the 
battlefield, he sees that on the right, in the plain ^ the 
3d and 4th corps cannot overcome the obstacles to 
their march, and learns that, on the left, a portion 
of the Piedmontese army is retreating before an 
Austrian army corps which occupies in force the 
position of San Martino, not far from Lake Garda. 

It is half-past ten. The result of the battle is 
altogether uncertain. The 1st corps, under Marshal 
Baraguey d'Hilliers, is fighting furiously in the plain. 
His three divisions of infantry (1st, General de 
Luzy; 2d, General Vinoy; 3d, General de Faill}^) 
ai^e stubbornly contesting possession with the 
enemy of a farm called Casa-Nuova, on the right- 
hand side of the Gaito highroad, two kilometres 
from Guidizzolo. A fierce struggle, which is going 
to last all day, has begun around this farm, at the 
hamlet of Baite and the village of Rebecco. 

Between the 4th corps (General Niel) and the 2d 
(Marshal MacMahon) there is a wide solution of 
continuity. Fortunately the interval has been filled 
by three divisions of cavalry : the Partouneaux di- 
vision (3d corps), the Desvaux division (1st corps), 
and the division of the imperial guai-d, commanded 
by General Morris. But will not these three divi- 
sions be powerless to arrest the masses of Austrian 
troops which are incessantly renewed ? General Niel 
ardently desires to be supported b}"- IMarshal Canro- 
bert's corps, the 3d. But this corps is the farthest 



186 FRANCE AND ITALY 

back of all, because it is the only one which was 
obliged to cross the Chiesa in the morning. On 
the other hand, Marshal Canrobert has been notified 
by the Emperor that a corps of from twenty to 
twenty-five thousand Austrians, issuing from Man- 
tua, is moving toward Acqua-Negro. Therefore he 
has been requested to keep watch in that direction 
while supporting the right of the 4th corps in 
another. 

As to Marshal MacMahon, who has seized Casa- 
Marino, he guards provisionally his position on the 
Mantua road, between the 1st and 4tli corps. 

The Emperor, on the summit of Mount Fenile, de- 
cides to direct his greatest efforts towards the centre 
of the positions whose key is the heights dominating 
Solferino. 

He orders the D 'Alton brigade (2d of the Forey 
division of the 1st corps), which has not yet been 
engaged, to go forward, and supports it by four 
pieces of artillery. General Forey places himself 
at the head of this brigade, which rushes upon the 
right of the tower (the Hope of Italy). As it cannot 
unaided overcome superior forces, the Emperor sends 
the division of voltigeurs of the guard to its assist- 
ance. 

This division, commanded by General Camou, and 
comprising, besides the four regiments of voltigeurs, 
a battalion of foot chasseurs, is composed of the 
Maneque and the Picard brigades. The first, sup- 
porting the D'Alton brigade, goes to meet the Aus- 



THE BATTLE OF SOLFERINO 187 

trian columns which are coming down from Casa del 
Monte. The Picard brigade turns towards the heights 
on the left. 

The battalion of chasseurs of the guard skirts the 
village of Solferino, and some of its companies get 
to fighting in the streets and seize a flag and eight 
pieces of cannon. 

General Forej, supported by the voltigeurs of the 
guard, resumes the offensive with vigor. At the 
same time, two batteries of artillery of the guard, 
under General Lebceuf, come up at a gallop; they 
take a position which allows them to cover the vil- 
lage of Solferino with a rain of projectiles. General 
Forey drives the enemy from the hilltops and takes 
possession of them, while the D'Alton brigade is seiz- 
ing the tower heights and the tower itself, that famous 
iSpia d' Italia which dominates all the Lombard plains, 
and whence the eye embraces the horizon from the 
banks of the Mincio to those of the Po. It is two 
o'clock in the afternoon when the tricolor floats from 
the summit of this tower. 

The cemetery is carried by assault at the same 
moment. Marshal Baraguey d'Hilliers has ordered a 
breach in the walls, and for that purpose has sent an 
exposed battery of artillery to a most dangerous posi- 
tion some three hundred yards from the wall. After 
a well-aimed and continuous fire a sufficient gap is 
made, and General Bazaine takes the cemetery with 
a rush. The village and the chateau likewise suc- 
cumb to the victors. 



188 FRANCE AND ITALY 

Now is the time when the 2d corps (MacMa- 
hon) is about to take an important part in the con- 
test. Solferino and the surrounding heights are in 
the hands of the 1st corps. It is essential that the 
2d corps shoukl seize the heights and the village of 
Cavriana. If the attack succeeds, the Austrian army- 
will have to beat a retreat in order to recross the 
Mincio. The two divisions of infantry, those of Gen- 
eral de La Motterouge and General Decaen, rush off 
impetuously in the direction of Solferino and Cavri- 
ana. Simultaneously the Marshal orders the chief 
of the cavalry of the guard. General Morris, whose 
twenty-four squadrons have been placed under the 
Marshal's command by the Emperor, to occupy the 
interval about to separate the Desvaux division from 
the 2d corps, whose right flank it will shield by 
forming in echelons. 

The regiment of Algerian tirailleurs, which holds 
the left of the La Motterouge division, takes the vil- 
lage of San Casciano and scales the very steep cliffs 
at whose summit lies Cavriana. 

Let us listen to Marshal MacMahon's chief of staff, 
General Lebrun : " We saw our Algerian tirailleurs 
bound like panthers from summit to summit, halting 
behind every projection of ground to take breath and 
discharge a gun, then once more springing farther up. 
The sight presented to our eyes by this manoeuvre, 
not until then employed in our army, is one never to 
be forgotten. We admired it for half an hour." 

In its ascending movement the regiment of tira- 



THE BATTLE OF SOLFEBINO 189 

illeurs is followed by the 70 th of the line. The colo- 
nels of both regiments, Laure in command of the 
first and Douay of the second, are killed. 

Now the mounted artillery of the guard comes on 
the scene, placing itself at the entrance of the valley 
whose further end is covered by the village of Cav- 
riana. Four pieces are simultaneously despatched to 
the ridge of Mount Fontana. The teams find diffi- 
culty in dragging the cannons, and the gunners sup- 
port the wheels and push them forward. Moreover, 
several pieces have to be carried up to a very lofty 
plateau from which they would be able to give pow- 
erful assistance to the other battery. But the slopes 
are too steep for horses. Whereupon the grenadiers 
of the guard come to the rescue, and, harnessing 
themselves to four rifled cannon, succeed in hoisting 
them to the crest of the hill. 

General Morris is impatiently awaiting a chance to 
set the cavalry of the guard at work. It comes at 
about half-past three. A column of Austrian cavalry 
makes its appearance, and he sends General Cassai- 
gnoles and the regiment of mounted chasseurs to 
charge them in flank. The Austrians are driven 
back. 

The Emperor has ordered the Man^que brigade, of 
the voltigeurs of the guard, supported by General 
Mellinet's grenadiers, to move from Solferino against 
Cavriana and support the 2d corps. The enemy can 
not long resist this double attack, sustained by the 
fire of the artillery of the guard, and towards five 



190 FRANCE AND ITALY 

o'clock in the evening, the Mandque brigade and the 
Algerian tirailleurs enter the village of Cavriana at 
the same time. 

This success coincides with that of the 4th corps. 
For more than twelve hours its troops have been 
marching and fighting, without having eaten, on 
ground completely without water, and in one of those 
stifling heats which foretell a terrible storm. Worn 
out by fatigue, they would end by giving in but for 
the timely assistance of General Trochu, comman- 
dant of the 2d division of the 3d corps, who, placing 
himself at the head of the Bataille brigade, arrives 
with fresh troops, and, as General Niel afterwards 
writes, leads them to the enemy in squares, the right 
wing in front, with as much order and coolness as if 
on a drill ground. After depriving the Austrians of 
a company of infantry and two pieces of cannon, he 
arrives midway between Casa-Nuova and Guidizzolo. 

All of a sudden the sky clouds over. A furious 
wind raises whirlwinds of dust. A formidable storm 
breaks. The roar of thunder replaces that of cannon. 
A deluge of rain paralyses all movement and com- 
pletely suspends fighting. The day has become 
blacker than night. At ten paces one can distinguish 
neither men, horses, nor vehicles. " The spectacle," 
says General Lebrun, "was one of those which are 
not witnessed twice in a lifetime, and it lasted for 
more than half an hour. In presence of an atmos- 
pheric phenomenon which had made night on the 
banks of the Mincio, could the Emperor order his 



THE BATTLE OF SOLFERINO 191 

army to go in pursuit of the Austrians ? I do not 
think so." 

Francis Joseph, whose headquarters had been at 
Cavriana all day, has just ordered a general retreat 
of all his troops behind the Mincio. For an instant. 
Napoleon III. is inclined to pursue them, but Marshal 
MacMahon calls his attention to the fact that the in- 
fantry has not eaten since morning, that most of the 
knapsacks had been put down on the ground at the 
time of the different attacks, and that the foot-sol- 
diers would be incapable of supporting the cavalry 
should it set off in pursuit of the enemy. 

When the storm ceased, the Austrian centre had 
in great part abandoned the field, and was retiring in 
deep columns towards the points where it had crossed 
the Mincio the day before. A battery of the French 
imperial guard, led by Lieutenant-Colonel de Berck- 
heim, on the crest of the last hill taken, opened fire 
on the flying columns with its long-range guns. In 
his Souvenirs et Impressions, the Marquis de Massa 
has written : " In the midst of a group of officers who 
were seeking to open a passage for their generals, 
Francis Joseph himself, who had been among the 
last to leave the bravely contested battlefield, was be- 
lieved to be recognized. At this moment. Napoleon 
III., coming up at a gallop close to the battery to es- 
timate its terrible effects, seeing the terrible personal 
risk incurred by his unfortunate adversary, and cer- 
tain that no offensive return was to be dreaded, 
ordered the gunners to stop firing. This act of gener- 



192 FRANCE AND ITALY 

osity cannot be called in question; I had it from 
Prince Murat, in whose presence it occurred." 

Since that time, France and Austria have never 
fought against each other. They learned mutual 
esteem and honor at Solferino and Magenta. Their 
interests are not antagonistic. Let us hope that the 
two powers will always comprehend it. 

As to the Piedmontese and the Austrians, they 
were fated to measure swords again. The storm had 
put an end to the strife between the troops of the two 
emperors. Those of Victor Emmanuel renewed the 
combat. 

One may say that two distinct battles were deliv- 
ered simultaneously, the French one at Solferino, 
and the Piedmontese at San Martino. The five 
infantry divisions of the royal army, commanded by 
Generals Durando, Fanti, Mollard, Cialdini, and Cuc- 
chiari, were held in check by superior forces, and their 
situation, not far from Lake Garda, had been critical. 
The fighting lasted fifteen consecutive hours. In 
spite of all their valor, the Piedmontese troops had 
been unable to lend any assistance to the 1st corps 
of the French army. Nor had they themselves re- 
ceived any except that of a cannonade coming from 
the French positions, which took momentary effect 
on the rear of the Austrian columns as the}^ were 
trying to outflank the right wing of the royal army. 

When the storm ended, four Piedmontese batteries 
opened fire again and prepared the attack of the in- 
fantry, which assaulted the positions of San Martino 



THE BATTLE OF SOLFERINO 193 

and ended by seizing them. The enemy attempted 
another offensive return; but a charge of the light- 
horsemen of Montferrat repulsed them for the last 
time, and at night the plateau of San Martino 
remained definitively in the power of Victor Em- 
manuel's army. General Benedek, who had occu- 
pied it throughout the day, had, for that matter, just 
received orders from the Emperor Francis Joseph to 
participate in the general retreat. Hence the Aus- 
trians claim that the Tiedmontese conquered only 
what they had themselves abandoned. The hero- 
ism of the royal troops is none the less incontest- 
able for that. They deserved this eulogy of their 
brave sovereign : " Soldiers, in previous battles I 
have frequently had occasion to mention the names 
of many among you in the order of the day. To-day, 
I shall mention the entire army." 

Napoleon III. had just gained one of the greatest 
victories of modern times. He had directed all the 
operations, and, paying bravely with his person, 
had exposed himself, in the midst of the action, on 
the different heights visible from Solferino. In the 
gallery of Versailles, a large canvas by Yvon repre- 
sents him on Mount F^nile, surrounded by his staff, at 
the moment when he is sending the voltigeurs of the 
imperial guard against the tower which dominates 
the village from which the battle takes its name. 
Victor all along the line, he gave orders for his 
troops to bivouac on the conquered positions and 
take at last a well-earned repose. Then, going to 



194 FRANCE AND ITALY 

Cavriana, he established his headquarters in the very 
house where the Austrian. Emperor had had his 
throughout the day. To the horrors and tumult 
of war succeeded profound tranquillity and the 
silence of death. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

AFTBB SOLFEKINO 

rpHERE are military men who are as accustomed 
-^ to the sight of human bloodshed as butchers to 
that of animals, and who view the horrors of war dry- 
eyed and without a sentiment of compassion for its vic- 
tims. Napoleon III. bore not the slightest resemblance 
to such men as these. A philosopher and humanitarian, 
he did not behold a battle without profound sadness. 
Baron de Bazancourt has terminated his fine account 
of the battle of Solf erino with this sentence : " When 
all had become quiet around him, into what a happy 
slumber must the victor have fallen while thinking 
that, the next day, France on its awakening would 
salute with joyous acclamations this new and glorious 
triumph ! " We do not believe that the slumber of 
Napoleon was " happy." The victory had been pur- 
chased by too costly sacrifices. The compassionate 
sovereign thought he still heard the cries of : ' Long 
live the Emperor ! " coming from the wounded and 
the dying. 

At daybreak on the 25th of June a lamentable 
spectacle displayed itself before the eyes of the vic- 
torious army. Two days before, from the summit 

195 



196 FRANCE AND ITALY 

of these now dismal and bloody hills, the Austrians 
had beheld smiling fields, a plain filled with superb 
harvests, fine trees, vineyards loaded with grapes. 
Now, all was crushed, trampled, sacked. Nothing 
was in sight but trees torn up by the roots, rows of 
mulberries levelled to the ground, farms, outhouses, 
enclosures riddled with balls ; the soil kneaded by 
the feet of horses and the wheels of gun-carriages. 
How many farmers and peasants regretted their 
ruined harvests, their destroyed houses and cabins? 
Heaps of dead bodies encumbered certain places on 
the battlefield where the fighting had been especially 
heavy : the plateau of San Martino, which the Pied- 
montese and Austrians had furiously disputed; Re- 
becco and Casa-Nuova, where the 1st French army 
corps had fought with such violence; the mamelon 
of the Cypresses, which, to quote M. de La Gorce, 
seemed to come forward draped in mourning for all 
the tombs which it would shelter. The cemetery 
of Solferino was especially provocative of melancholy 
reflections. Why do not men, in their fratricidal 
struggles, respect at least the asylum of the eternal 
slumber? Why do the cries of war disturb the 
repose of graves? 

" To lead our horses to water," says the Marquis 
de Massa, " we had to cross, between Solferino and 
Cavriana, one of those furrows of earth where the 
attack and defence had been most deadly. There 
lay, extended pell-mell, the enemies of yesterday, 
united now in the pale fraternity of death : our foot- 



AFTER SOLFEBINO 197 

soldiers and voltigeurs, their long capotes and white 
gaiters emerging from the red trousers : the Tyrolese 
and Croatians, with their sky-blue breeches outlining 
the contours of their sinewy legs, their leather boots 
laced just above the ankle, some on their backs, 
others face to the ground, according to the stroke 
which had mowed them down ; most of them bare- 
headed ; the victorious imperial eagle and the double- 
headed vanquished eagle seemed to be extending 
their wings sadly on the dinted stars of their helmets 
or shakos which had rolled to a little distance. Our 
horses, led by their bridles, distended their nostrils 
and breathed hard, and seemed unwilling to step 
over all these corpses, as if conscious of committing 
a sacrilege." 

The churches, public buildings, houses, and silk- 
worm nurseries had been converted into hospitals. 
But everything was lacking ; medicines, stores, even 
doctors. The Ited Cross was not then in existence. 
Philanthropists, acting on their own initiative, came 
to the battlefield. There they conceived the humani- 
tarian project afterwards realized by the " Society for 
the help of the wounded." 

From an Austrian army comprising not less than 
one hundred and fifty thousand combatants, and 
occupying formidable positions, the French army had 
taken three flags, thirty cannon, and made six thou- 
sand prisoners. But at the cost of what a slaughter ! 
Sixteen hundred killed, eighty-five hundred wounded, 
fifteen hundred men missing, — such was the sched- 



198 FRANCE AND ITALY 

ule of its losses. Generals Dieu, Auger, Ladmirault, 
Forey, Douay, were among the wounded; tlie first 
two afterwards died in consequence. Seven colonels 
and nine lieutenant-colonels had been killed: Col- 
onels Laure, of the Algerian tirailleurs ; Waubert de 
Genlis, of the 8th of the line ; Lacroix, of the 30th ; 
Capri, of the 53d ; Douay, of the 70th ; Broutta, of 
the 43d ; Jourjon, of the engineers ; Lieutenant- 
Colonels Campagnon, of the 2d of the line ; Bigot, 
of the 85th ; Herment, of the Algerian tii'ailleurs ; 
Ducoir, of the 3d grenadiers of the guard ; Neu- 
cheze, of the 8th of the line; Vallet, of the 91st; 
Hemard, of the 61st ; Laurans des Ondes, of the 5th 
hussars ; d'Albrantes, chief of staff of the Failly 
division. 

The Piedmontese army had seven hundred dead, 
thirty-five hundred wounded, twelve hundred miss- 
ing. 

On learning successively of the loss of so many 
officers apparently destined to a brilliant future, and 
who had shown such loyalty to him and to France, 
Napoleon III. was sincerely afflicted. From Cavri- 
ana he addressed to his army the following procla- 
mation, which seems to breathe sadness rather than 
pride : — 

" Soldiers ! The enemy expected to surprise and 
fling us back beyond the Chiesa ; it is they who have 
recrossed the Mincio instead. You have worthily 
sustained the honor of France, and the battle of 



AFTER SOLFBRINO 199 

Solferino equals and even surpasses the memories 
of Lonato and Castiglione. 

"During twelve hours you have repelled the des- 
perate efforts of one hundred and fifty thousand men. 
Neither the numerous cannon of the enemy, nor the 
formidable positions they occupied over an extent 
of three leagues, nor the distressing heat, have dimin- 
ished your ardor. The grateful fatherland thanks 
you through my lips for such perseverance and cour- 
age ; but it weeps with me over those who are dead 
on the field of honor. We have taken three flags, 
thirty cannon, and six thousand prisoners. The 
Sardinian army has fought with like bravery against 
superior forces ; it is well worthy to march beside 
you. Soldiers, so much spilled blood will not be 
unavailing for the glory of France and the welfare 

peop es. ^^ Napoleon." 

All who saw the Emperor the day after the battle 
of Solferino, agree in saying that his usually imjpas- 
sive face betrayed sadness and moral lassitude. He 
may already have foreseen the catastrophes to be 
originated by the war of Italy, and had a presenti- 
ment that the Italians would not always behave as 
brethren to the French. He had probably arrived at 
the point of wondering whether this war, contrived 
and prepared for by himself, was in reality as indis- 
pensable as he had imagined. One of his most 
devoted adherents, General Fleury, expressed this 
anxiety and doubt at Cavriana, June 25 : " War is 



200 FRANCE AND ITALY 

fine at a distance," lie wrote on that day. "It is 
profitable to the commanders-in-chief, it glorifies the 
country, when there is need of it, but it costs many 
tears, it makes tears of blood to flow. No war but 
that of national independence has a right to impose 
such painful sacrifices. War for influence is not 
enough to impassion for long even the ambitious men 
of the army; they fear being unable in their turn 
to enjoy the promotions made possible by the death 
of their brethren in arms." And the General added 
with easily comprehensible melancholy : " Battles 
excite me, they leave me calm and free to act while 
they are sporting with corpses; but afterwards, my 
nerves relax. I reflect on the anguish they leave 
behind when the fighting is over, and I tell myself 
that these butcheries are not in keeping with our 
times." 

The fatigue corps grew weary of digging graves. 
The 25th of June was spent by the allied army in 
burying the dead and collecting the wounded. On 
that day, the Emperor appointed General Niel a 
marshal of France. The commander of the 4th 
corps, every regiment of which had taken so active 
a part in the fighting, well deserved this reward. 
Magenta had made two marshals : MacMahon and 
Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angely ; Solferino made a 
third. Hence a marshal of France found himself at 
the head of each of the four army corps and of the 
imperial guard. 

During the same day, the Fiench army approached 



AFTER 80LFERIN0 201 

the Mincio and established itself in the following 
positions : the 1st corps in the environs of Pozzo- 
longo; the 2d at Cavriana; the 3d at Solferino, j 

leaving one division of infantry at Guidizzolo, with f 

the Desvaux and Partouneaux divisions of cavalry ; 
the 4th at Volta. The Emperor had remained 
with the guard at Cavriana, and Victor Emmanuel 
at San Martino. By evening of that day, almost the 
whole of the Austrian army had recrossed the Mincio, 
and Francis Joseph had taken up his imperial head- 
quarters at Verona. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

THE EMPEESS BEGENT 

"n^rOTHING occurred to disturb the Empress in 
-^^ her functions as regent while Napoleon III. was 
in Italy. The different parties ceased wrangling and 
had no intention of playing the foreigner's game. 

The Chamber separated at the end of May. On 
the 26th, the sovereign received at the Tuileries the 
members of the Senate, the Corps Legislatif, and the 
Council of State. The president of the Senate said 
to her : " The Senate thanks Your Majesty for the 
affectionate audience which gives it an opportunity 
to see this beloved Child, the hope of France. In 
the absence of the Emperor, each of us experi- 
ences a more active devotion towards the cherished 
persons whom he has confided to the patriotism of 
the French." The Empress replied : " Messieurs les 
Senateurs, you have desired, before separating, to 
give a new proof of loyalty to the Emperor by ask- 
ing to see the Prince Imperial. I am not in the least 
surprised by this evidence of the solicitude with which 
I am surrounded ; but I am none the less profoundly 
affected by it; this proceeding, like the counsels of 
my beloved uncle, gives me precious encouragement 
and strength." 

202 



THE EMPRESS REGENT 203 

Count de Morny, president of the Corps L^gislatif, 
spoke next : " We are all going back to our depart- 
ments," said he ; " there we shall cultivate the patriot- 
ism demanded by existing circumstances ; but it will 
not require much exertion to do that where the hearts 
of the people always vibrate at the mention of glory 
and honor. The absence of the Emperor may have 
caused some anxiety to those who do not know France, 
but this generous and sensitive nation understands all 
the delicate sentiments, and when it sees the Emperor 
departing in order to share the danger of his soldiers 
and defend the honor of the flag, it displays still more 
respect, if that were possible, for your authority, and 
affection and devotion for your person. Rely, then, 
Madame, on the concurrence of all, and on the senti- 
ments to which you are entitled as regent and as 
mother." 

The Empress replied : " Gentlemen, I am touched 
by the desire you have expressed to see the Prince 
Imperial before returning to your departments. I 
rely upon your enlightened patriotism to cultivate 
the faith we all ought to have in the energy of the 
army, and, when the day shall arrive, in the modera- 
tion of the Emperor. For me, however heavy my 
task may be, I shall find in my wholly French heart 
the necessary courage to accomplish it. I depend, 
therefore, gentlemen, on your loyal concurrence and 
the support of the nation which, in the absence of 
the chief it has chosen, will never be lacking to a 
woman and a child." 



204 FRANCE AND ITALY 

Alas ! on September 4, 1870, the Empress will 
perhaps remember the words she uttered May 26, 
1859! 

The war which had taken place on the other side 
of the Alps wrought no change in the appearance 
of Paris. As usual, the fashionable season did not 
continue beyond Easter, but the theatres were filled, 
and every day one saw, at the famous " tour of the 
lake," a crowd of elegant cavaliers and brilliant 
equipages. War is as splendid at a distance as it is 
horrible close at hand. In 1859, it gave Parisians 
more diversion than anxiety. It recalled celebrated 
places and the names of victories. Its scene was 
that poetic and illustrious Italy which has played so 
great a part in the annals of French glory. People 
bought maps on which they stuck pins surmounted 
by tiny French, Piedmontese, and Austrian flags 
which indicated the positions of the three armies. 
There were t)ptimists then in all classes of society. 
The thought of a disaster never occurred to anybody. 
Even the enemies of Napoleon III. believed in his 
luck, in his fortunate star. The French nation, 
infatuated with itself since its successes in the 
Crimea, considered itself invincible. 

The Empress fulfilled her duties as regent very 
conscientiously. Her ministers were in raptures over 
her zeal, her intelligence, her aptitude to comprehend 
difficult questions. She had installed herself in the 
chSiteau of Saint-Cloud, and was living there in seclu- 
sion, engrossed in studying the most arduous of 



THE EMPBESS REGENT 205 

political subjects. The Countess Stephanie de La 
Pagerie summarizes thus the life led by the sovereign 
at this time : " She presides over three ministerial 
councils every week, two of which are at the Tuile- 
ries; she supports valiantly the emotions of the 
situation. She even adapts herself so well to this 
grave and serious work that she sometimes says that 
when the regency is over she is afraid she shall be 
very dull, so captivated is she with these interesting 
and important occupations. In the evening she 
assembles a few persons, the Count and Countess 
Walewski, the Marquis de Cadore, and several ladies 
of the palace. They chat while making lint and 
drinking tea. Minds are in Italy, at the scene of 
war, and there is a lack of news." 

The people of Paris do not hear of the victory of 
Magenta until the evening of June 5. The same 
day, at a quarter past four in the afternoon, the 
Emperor had sent the Empress the following tele- 
gram : " This is the summary, so far as known, of the 
battle of Magenta: seven thousand prisoners at 
least; twenty thousand Austrians disabled; three 
cannon and two flags taken. To-day the army is 
resting and reorganizing. Our losses amount to 
about three thousand men killed and one cannon 
taken by the enemy." 

Salvos of artillery from the Invalides announced 
the victory to the Parisians at eight o'clock in the 
evening. Between nine and ten, the Empress and 
the Princess Clotilde passed through the boulevards 



206 FRANCE AND ITALY 

and the rue de Rivoli in an open carriage. They 
were everywhere greeted by shouts of : " Long live 
the Emperor ! Long live the Empress ! Long live 
the Princess Clotilde ! " Public buildings and many 
private houses were illuminated. 

A Te Deum was chanted at Notre Dame, June 7, 
in presence of the Regent, King Jerome, the Prin- 
cess Clotilde, and the Princess Mathilde. The streets 
and squares through which the cortege of the 
sovereign passed were draped with French and Sar- 
dinian flags. The line was formed by the national 
guard and the troops of the line. Received under 
the dais by the clergy of Notre Dame, the Empress 
was conducted processionally to the estrade pre- 
pared for her in the choir. At her entry as at her 
exit from the church she was greeted by the liveliest 
applause. 

Before leaving Milan, Napoleon III. raised one of 
his orderlies. Commandant Schmitz, to the rank of 
lieutenant-colonel, and sent him to the Empress with 
the two Austrian flags taken at Magenta. This 
oflicer reached Saint-Cloud June 13. The sovereign 
gave him the accolade, and after receiving the glo- 
rious gift with profound emotion, she asked the 
messenger many questions about the great events 
he had just witnessed. 

June 24, Napoleon III. addressed a telegram to the 
Empress worded as follows : " Cavriana, June 24, 
9.15 P.M. Great battle and great victory. All the 
Austrian army has given in. The line of battle was 



THE EMPRESS REGENT 207 

five leagues in length. We have carried all the posi- 
tions, taken many cannon, flags, and prisoners. The 
battle lasted from four in the morning until eight in 
the evening." 

The Empress was in bed at the chateau of Saint- 
Cloud when the despatch arrived during the night. 
She rose at once, dressed as quickly as possible, 
went down into the garden and announced the 
victory herself to the sentries and soldiers of the 
guard. 

I remember the morning of June 25 at Paris. I 
had just arrived at the boulevard des Capucines 
when I saw the shops and houses being draped with 
flags. That was how I learned the news of the vic- 
tory. The superb weather was in harmony with the 
patriotic joy with which all hearts were throbbing. 
In the evening the streets and public places were 
filled with countless crowds. 

July 1, the Minister of Worship and Public In- 
struction addressed the following circular to the 
rectors of academies : " I think myself bound to 
express the desire that all the bulletins of the army 
of Italy published in the Moniteur shall be read be- 
fore the pupils of lyceums and colleges, and posted 
up in the interior of these establishments. Youth 
responds quickly to noble sentiments; its heart is 
touched by great things and devoted to the dynasties 
which know how to comprehend them ; it will rejoice 
in the new glories of the imperial standard ; it will 
learn also, in listening to the daily history of this 



208 FBANCE AND ITALY 

heroic campaign of Italy, how well labor and study- 
form intelligent and strong generations." 

July 2, at the Tuileries, Commandant d'Andlau, 
one of the Emperor's orderlies, presented to the 
Empress the Austrian flags taken at the battle of 
Solferino. 

Enthusiasm was general. The Crimean War, 
fought on a distant scene, and for little known and 
ill-defined diplomatic interests, had not so greatly 
excited public imagination. There is no resemblance 
between the monotony of a long siege and a series 
of swift battles like those of the war of Italy. 

The telegraph brought none but good news. All 
letters from officers or soldiers breathed enthusiasm, 
gaiety, confidence. All the bulletins were tales of 
victories. Lugubrious, lamentable, horrible when 
its sufferings are not compensated for by victories, 
war assumes an aspect of continual gladness when 
it is merely a succession of triumphs. Even mothers 
hardly dare to weep. 

July 3 had been fixed on for the chanting of the 
Te Deum at Notre Dame in celebration of the vic- 
tory of Solferino and in thanksgiving to the God 
of armies. The Empress Regent, who had gone 
without her son to the Te Deum chanted for Ma- 
genta, concluded to take him to that of July 3. 
When the child was told this good news he was 
delighted, and asked many questions about the fine 
ceremony in course of preparation. Favored by 
fine weather, it was magnificent. The procession 



THE EMPRESS BEGENT 209 

left the Tuileries at eleven o'clock in the morning, 
the Empress having with her, in an open carriage, 
the Prince Imperial, the Princess Clotilde, and the 
Princess Mathilde. She was met at the thresh- 
old of the cathedral by the Cardinal Archbishop 
of Paris, grand almoner to the Emperor, and by the 
metropolitan chapter, and, leading her son by the 
hand, was conducted processionally under a canopy 
to the estrade prepared for her in the middle of the 
choir. The ancient basilica was magnificently dec- 
orated. The escutcheons of France and Sardinia 
were visible on pillars draped with red velvet and 
gold fringe ; from the vaulted roof hung flags, ori- 
flammes, and banners. I was present at this solemnity. 
I seem still to hear the chants of the Church, the 
cries of: "Long live the Emperor! Long live the 
Empress ! Long live the Prince Imperial !" Standing 
in the choir, a few steps behind the Empress, I was 
looking at the little Prince, who, paying great atten- 
tion to all the movements of his mother, sat, stood 
up, and kneeled down whenever she did. Nothing 
could be more gracious than this child of three years 
in his white pique dress and his belt of blue watered 
silk. " This was the first time," said the Moniteur^ 
"that the Emperor's son united officially with the 
nation. God has permitted him to do so under the 
auspices of victory." On leaving the cathedral, 
General de Lawoestine, commander-in-chief of the 
national guard of the Seine, offered the Empress a 
superb bouquet, and the cavalry of the same troops 



210 FRANCE AND ITALY 

presented her with a wreath of golden laurels with 
clasps of real pearls. The ovation on the return of 
the procession was still more cordial than that which 
greeted it as it went. The applauded sovereign 
saluted the crowd with emotion and the little Prince 
threw kisses to it. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

PRINCE NAPOLEON 

/^N the day when the Te Deum for the victory of 
^■^^ Solferino was beiug chanted at Notre Dame, 
the Emperor, who was continuing his forward march 
and had just crossed the Mincio, was rejoined by 
Prince Napoleon. The Prince brought with him the 
5th corps, comprising the d'Autemarre and UMch 
infantry divisions, the brigade of light cavalry 
commanded by General de Lap^rouse, and the 
Tuscan division under General Ulloa. The total 
effective was about thirty thousand men and two 
thousand horses. 

Prince Napoleon, commander of the 5th corps, had 
landed at Genoa, May 12, with the Emperor. One 
of his divisions, the d'Autemarre, was detached from 
the corps and placed under the orders of Marshal 
Baraguey d'Hilliers, commander of the 1st corps, 
and two of its regiments, the 93d of the line and 
the 3d zouaves, took part respectively in the battle 
of Montebello and that of Palestro. All that re- 
mained with the Prince was the Ulrich division and 
the Laperouse brigade of cavalry, with which the 
Emperor directed him to embark for Leghorn and 
occupy Tuscany. 

211 



212 FRANCE AND ITALY 

X/ [A revolution had broken out in Florence as far 
back as April 27. The train for it having been 
laid even more remotely by the Sardinian minister 
in that city, M. de Buoncampagni, it was effected 
without violence or bloodshed. During the night 
the Tuscan troops had assumed the Italian cockade, 
and at seven in the evening the Grand Duke Leopold 
had quitted his capital in the midst of a crowd that 
seemed more indifferent than hostile to him. Each 
of the foreign ministries sent one of its secretaries to 
escort him and his family as far as the frontier, and 
the municipality offered him a guard of honor. Be- 
fore leaving, the Grand Duchess said to Count de Ray- 
neval, secretary of the French legation : " I hope that 
the Emperor of the French will protect us ; I have 
the letters he wrote me in 1848, and they testify 
his friendly sentiments for our family." Not a 
threat, not an insult was uttered against the Grand 
Duke during his journey. At the frontier, when M. 
de Rayneval came up to take leave of the Grand 
Duchess, she repeated that she relied on the Em- 
peror's protection, and the hereditary Prince, who 
had been the guest of Their Imperial Majesties at 
Compi^gne, in 1856, expressed his desire to be 
remembered to them. 

The very day of the Grand Duke's departure from 
his States, M. Buoncampagni had assumed power, 
with the title of commissioner of King Victor Em- 
manuel, and the tri-colored Italian flag had been 
run up. 



PRINCE NAPOLEON 213 

Prince Napoleon landed at Leghorn, May 23. His 
antagonism with the Marquis de Ferriere-le-Vayer, 
minister of France in Tuscany, became evident as soon 
as he reached the city. The French diplomat showed 
himself as averse to the annexation of the grand duchy 
to Sardinia as the Prince was in favor of it. The 
former wrote to Count Walewski, May 24 : " Prince 
Napoleon arrived at Leghorn yesterday with part of 
his army corps, and has been received with the 
utmost enthusiasm. I had been invited by His 
Imperial Highness to call upon him, and M. Buon- 
campagni having received a similar invitation, we 
went together. The Prince told both of us that 
the annexation of this country to Sardinia had been 
decided on at headquarters, and that we must pre- 
pare people's minds for it ; that it was necessary to 
have done with a would-be ambition to reign at Flor- 
ence, and that the best way to accomplish this was to 
destroy the autonomy of Tuscany by handing it over 
to Piedmont. I ventured to defend the cause of Tus- 
can autonomy against Prince Napoleon. I said that 
the opinion of all the aristocratic nobilities, scien- 
tists, literary men, and politicians of the country, 
was arrayed more than ever on its side, and would 
be increasingly so if it were seriously threatened." 

The Marquis de Ferri^re-le-Vayer added in the same 
despatch: "If the annexation must be consummated 
— and I ask myself by what right — I do not see what 
claim a minister of the Emperor could have to remain 
here ; and, if this minister must remain for the pur- 



214 FRANCE AND ITALY 

pose of accustoming minds to this measure, it is evi- 
dent that I would be quite incapable of executing, 
with propriety or success, instructions contrary to 
opinions which everybody here knows me to hold. 
Hence I would beg Your Excellency, if this thing 
must be, to authorize my return to France as soon as 
possible." 

Count Walewski had been the Emperor's minister at 
Florence, and, like the Marquis de Ferri^re-le-Vayer, 
he was a convinced partisan of Tuscan autonomy. 
May 25, he sent the latter this telegram in cipher: 
" I made haste to acquaint the Emperor that Prince 
Napoleon declared that His Majesty had decided on 
the annexation of Tuscany to Piedmont. The Em- 
peror replied this morning that if his cousin had 
employed such language, it was contrary to his 
instructions. Tell Prince Napoleon so. It is all 
the more essential that no misunderstanding should 
exist on this head since the despatches I have sent 
you within the last few days are contradictory of 
what the Prince has said." 

We reproduce some extracts from two despatches 
addressed to Count Walewski by the Marquis de 
Ferri^re le-Vayer : — 

" Florence, June 9, 1859. — Prince Napoleon's pres- 
ence has done much harm. It has been made use of 
by the Sardinian party. . . . Baron Ricasoli and 
the advocate Salvagnoli have each told me within a 
few days that the temporal sovereignty of the Pope 
must be radically abolished. It really is a little 



PRINCE NAPOLEON 215 

too strong to see these persons, puffed up by their 
chance functions, settling in this way one of the 
greatest questions that can present itself before the 
victorious sword and lofty intelligence of the Em- 
peror. ... I repeat it. Count, if the question of 
Tuscany is to be kept intact, it is not a prince with 
an army corps, but five or six hundred Frenchmen 
who should be sent here, expressly charged to main- 
tain substantial order, and the royal commissioner 
and his ministers should be enjoined to await the 
definitive arrangements which will be adopted after 
the war, without pretending to prejudge them." 

The second despatch, dated June 14, was an actual 
plea against Italian unity. Among other things, it 
said: "The unity of Italy would entail the fall of 
the temporal sovereignty of the Popes, linked so 
closely with the traditions of our country since the 
origin of its monarchy, that, without mentioning the 
consequences to the Catholic world, this fall would 
at once open an abyss in front of France ; and, more- 
over, it would create a first-class power on the Medi- 
terranean which, once constituted, would be more 
inclined to become England's ally than ours should 
war break out between us, were it only to resume 
possession of Corsica, as is demanded by MM. 
Guerrazzi and Salvagnoli in their novels and bro- 
chures." 

The despatch concluded thus : " It would be better 
for us to give up the prospect of gaining Savoy, and 
thus by our disinterestedness acquire the right to 



216 FRANCE AND ITALY 

impose moderation on Sardinia, than to procure for 
it an increase of territory which might introduce 
such serious disturbances in our political and reli- 
gious sphere. Henry IV. and Richelieu, whose au- 
thority has so often been evoked within the last few 
months, dreamed of dismembering the great powers 
neighboring to France and not of reuniting their 
scattered fragments in order to constitute another 
State on our frontier." 

Meanwhile, unitary ideas were making rapid prog- 
ress, not merely in Tuscany, but in Parma, Modena, 
and the Romagna. 

The Duchess of Parma, sister of the Count de 
Chambord, liad vainly tried to save her son's throne 
by observing strict neutrality between Austria and 
Sardinia. The Austrians having evacuated Plaisance, 
June 10, she felt that she was ruined. June 16, M. 
Pallieri was appointed governor of the duchy of 
Parma by the Piedmontese government. The 27th, 
the Duchess left for Switzerland after announcing in 
a proclamation that, placed under the necessity of 
taking part in a war said to be one of nationality 
or else violating her pledges to Austria, she with- 
drew to avoid the alternative of acting contrary to 
the wishes of Italy, or of failing in her engagements. 

Francis, Duke of Modena, had not been more for- 
tunate. The provinces of Massa and Carrara had 
declared against him as early as April 27. He with- 
drew into his fortress of Brescello, and caused 
Modena and Reggio to be occupied by the Austrians. 



PRINCE NAPOLEON 217 

They having evacuated the two cities, June 12, he 
took refuge in Austria, and on the 19th M. Farini 
installed himself at Modena as Piedmontese commis- 
sioner. 

The Romagnas had a similar fate. The Austrians 
left there June 11-12. Bologna at once elected a 
junta one of whose members was Marquis Joachim 
Popoli, grandson of King Murat, cousin of Napoleon 
III., and husband of a princess of the blood-royal of 
Prussia, the daughter of Prince Hohenzollern, then 
president of the Ministerial Council of Berlin. The 
first act of this junta was to proclaim the dictator- 
ship of Victor Emmanuel, who made haste to send 
M. d'Azeglio into the Romagna as commissioner ex- 
traordinary. June 15, Cardinal Antonelli protested 
against what he called " a felony which horrifies 
eveiybody." 

Prince Napoleon's policy triumphed, and the Em- 
peror, though desiring the federation of Italy, took 
no steps to oppose that unity for which the signal 
was boldly given by the attitude of the Piedmontese 
government in Tuscany, Parma, Modena, and the 
Romagna. 

All central Italy having been evacuated by the 
Austrians, Prince Napoleon was ordered to reas- 
semble all the troops of the 5th corps and rejoin with 
them the army commanded by the Emperor. He 
arrived at Goito on the 30th. The junction being 
made, the concentration of the 5th army corps with 
the imperial guard was effected. 



CHAPTER XXIX 

THE DIPLOMATIC SITUATION" 

TDRINCE NAPOLEON, who had been so urgent 
for war, suddenly became the impassioned advo- 
cate of peace. General Fleury wrote to his wife June 
30 : " What a changeable mind ours is ! Prince 
Napoleon is the exaggerated type of it. He says 
quite frankly that the Emperor is as much bound to 
return to Paris as the Austrian Emperor to Vienna, 
and that the time to negotiate has come." 

Another letter of July 1 : "I have talked much 
and at length with Prince Napoleon. He seemed to 
me not merely reasonable, anxious to see the Em- 
peror profit by his victory in order to assure the basis 
of peace, but singularly alarmed by the gravity and 
extent which the war must inevitably assume if a 
timely end is not put to it. . . . From all of which 
it results that the Prince is not a bad adviser /or the 
moment."^, 

C It was no longer possible to delude one's self. All 
Germany was about to declare against France, and 
Russia would not take up arms against Germany. 
The Prussian army was in movement to concentrate 
itself upon the Rhine, lending a hand meanwhile to 

218 



THE DIPLOMATIC SITUATION 219 

several other corps of the federal army, and the corps 
of observation, reunited at Nancy under Marshal 
Pdlissier, was not large enough to withstand an 
attack from Prussia and the other States of the Ger- 
manic Confederation.J) 

Napoleon III. has been often reproached for halt- 
ing in the midst of the struggle, and it has been 
asserted that if he had kept on, he might have 
counted on the assured support of Russia. We are 
about to reproduce a despatch which proves this to ^ 
be a capital error. M.s early as June 25, the Duke of 
Montebello, ambassador of France at Saint Peters- 
burg, wrote to Count Walewski : " The news of the 
mobilization of six corps of the Prussian army has pro- 
duced the most unpleasant impression on the Russian 
cabinet. Prince Gortchakoff has not concealed his 
uneasiness from me. Prussia intends to send an 
army to the Rhine and another to the Main. The 
Prince concludes that in order to avert the terrible 
extremity of a war with Germany, we should make 
haste to come to negotiations. He is extremely 
desirous that these may be based on just foundations, 
such as may assure a lasting peace, and in conformity 
with the legitimate wishes of Italy, the interest of 
Europe, and the situation of the belligerent parties. 
He is intimately persuaded that the war will become 
general if it is prolonged ; he foresees that in our 
ulterior operations it will be difficult for us not to 
borrow German territory. In this situation full of 
incalculable dangers, the cabinet of Saint Petersburg 



220 FRANCE AND ITALY 

places its confidence in the moderation of whicli the 
Emperor has given so many proofs, and which should 
be easy after victory. Prince Gortchakoff has said 
to me that if France agrees to negotiate, its views 
will be upheld by Russia ; if it refuses, all that Rus- 
sia can do is to reconcile itself sadly to resignation 
and abstention.'') 

The Emperor Alexander acted with frankness and 
loyalty. He sent Count Schouvaloff to Napoleon III. 
with a letter in which he described the situation 
with the utmost precision. General Fleury wrote 
from Valeggio, July 1 : " We have a newcomer to 
the general staff, the young Count Schouvaloff, aide- 
de-camp of the Russian Emperor, who is going to 
follow the operations of the campaign. He is a very 
nice and intelligent young colonel, and one can get 
something out of him. He told me that in passing 
through Berlin he had seen the Grand Duchess 
H^l^ne, and learned from her that the Prince of 
Prussia was positively jealous of the laurels and 
influence of the Emperor Napoleon; that he spent 
his time in studying his map, sticking pins in it, and 
in getting ready to play the part of a great warrior 
in his turn. . . . As to the effective and immediate 
assistance against Austria which the public for an 
instant believed would be given by Russia, all hope 
of it must be abandoned. . . . Beware of a general 
war; then beware the desertion of England, and beware 
above all the revolution and the desertion of France ! " 

ICount Walewski had been always opposed to the 



THE DIPLOMATIC SITUATION 221 

war, and did all in his power to induce the Emperor 
to cut it short by sending him the most alarming 
reports. All the representatives of France at Berlin, 
Frankfort, and in the secondary States of Germany 
were unanimous in considering the situation as very 
menacing. The passions of 1813 were reviving. 
All the efforts made by Napoleon III. to reassure 
the Germans had been useless. The Prince of 
Prussia persisted in saying that the Emperor was 
deceiving everybody, and that it was the duty of 
Prussia, and of all Germans, to get ready to face 
the danger. All the States of the Confederation de- 
clared against France, and it would have been im- 
possible to find one among them with the slightest 
sympathy for the Italian causeA 

(In the general crisis which seemed impending, 
could the Italians count at least upon the English? 
Not in the least. The Tory ministry led by Lord 
Derby had been overthrown by a parliamentary vote 
June 10, and replaced by a Whig ministry in which 
Lord Palmerston was Prime Minister, and Lord John 
Russell chief of the foreign office. On seeing these 
two former champions of their cause arrive at power, 
the Italians cherished great illusions and hoped that 
English fleets might perhaps assist to deliver Venice. 
At the moment when the vote of the Commons, 
which overthrew the Tory ministry, was announced. 
Marquis Emmanuel d'Azeglio, who was in the lobby, 
was seen to toss his hat up and utter cries of joy. 
"Never," said Lord Malmesbury, "could one have 



222 FRANCE AND ITALY 

imagined an ambassador, even an Italian one, aban- 
doning himself to such extravagant actions."} A 
few days later, the Marquis, still full of confidence, 
laid before Lord Palmerston the plan of a kingdom 
of Italy which should include Lombardy, Venetia, 
the Romagna, and the duchies. The Prime Minister 
contented himself with replying : ^' The question is 
to know whether France would like to establish a 
second Prussia on her flank." 

(Menaced by Germany, Napoleon III. and Victor 
Emmanuel had not for a single moment the idea of 
relying on the armed assistance of England. Could 
they at least count upon her moral support? Not 
the least in the world. The war once over, Italian 
demonstrations in London were noisy enough. But 
during and before it, not a single voice was raised 
in England to favor the abolition of the treaties of 
1815, the maintenance of which was demanded by 
the Queen, Prince Albert, and the Whigs as well as 
by the Tories. It never occurred to any one to dream 
of seeing the English flag in the Adriatic as an ally 
in the deliverance of Venice^,--' 

(^Napoleon III., too much inclined to believe in the 
friendly intentions of England, fancied that she 
would assist him, if not to continue the war, at least 
in making peace. He hoped that his old friend. 
Lord Palmerston, would lend his good offices to ex- 
tricate him from a situation which daily grew more 
critical. He had his ambassador. Count de Persigny, 
try the ground. The latter hinted, as a personal 



THE DIPLOMATIC SITUATION 223 

suggestion, at an arrangement which should assign 
Lombardy to Piedmont, and create for one of the 
archdukes a separate kingdom comprising Venetia 
and the duchy of Modena. "Those," replied Lord 
Palmerston, " are propositions which would displease 
both sides. The Austrians would not cede Venetia 
which they still occupy. As to the Italians, they 
are hoping for the liberty of their whole country, 
and they will not believe they have got it so long 
as an archduke reigns over Venice and Modena." J^ll 
hope of English mediation was quickly dispelled.-^ 

(Lord Palmerston, once a great admirer of Napo- 
leon Ill.^had arrived at sharing the suspicions of 
Germany in his regard, and at speaking disdain- 
fully of his policy. "His head," said he, "is like 
a warren, ideas swarm in it like rabbits." (He re- 
sponded in no kindly tone to the applications of 
Count Persigny. "If the Emperor thinks the war 
has lasted long enough," said he, " or finds the task too 
difficult, let him make explicit personal offers to the 
Emperor of Austria, and not ask us to take his sug- 
gestions under our responsibility." This advice was 
to be followed more expeditiously than the English 
statesman could have believed. Seeing that he had 
nothing to hope from London, Napoleon III. re- 
solved to address himself directly to the Emperor 
of Austria, and to make peace suddenly at the very 
moment when everybody looked forward to a con- 
tinuation of the war. He liked unexpected things. 
Dramatic strokes pleased him. ; 



CHAPTER XXX 

THE LAST DAYS OF THE WAR 

( "VTAPOLEON III. put in practice the old adage: 
-'^^ If you want peace, prepare for war. (At the 
very time when he desired a peaceful solution, he 
took care to conceal his innermost thoughts, and to 
show increasing activity in his bellicose prepara- 
tions. Far from diminishing his effective forces, he 
enlarged them. His army on the Mincio received 
daily reinforcements. Besides the corps of Prince 
Napoleon, which had lately joined it, a division from 
France was expected. July 1, the Minister of War 
had sent an order in this sense to Marshal de Cas- 
tellane, who designated the division of General 
d'Hugues to leave the army of Lyons and rejoin 
the army of Italy at Brescia, its mission being to 
cover the outlets of the Alps, while acting as reserves 
for Garibaldi and General Cialdini. 
(^ The allied army was convinced that it was about 
to attack in front the formidable quadrilateral which, 
formed by the four cities of Peschiera, Mantua, 
Verona, and Legnano, constituted one of the strong- 
est strategic situations in the world. They had al- 
ready begun the siege of Peschiera, situated on the 

224 



THE LAST BATS OF THE WAR 225 

Mincio, at the point where that stream issues from 
Lake Garda, twenty-four kilometers from Verona. 
On the left bank the investment was complete, and 
on the right bank the work of countervallation had 
been started. 

( The Emperor spent his days in visiting the most 
advanced positions occupied by his troops, and in 
superintending the engineering and artillery works 
on the Mincio. He was seen everywhere, making 
personal investigation of the least details. y Through- 
out the campaign he displayed perfect evenness of 
temper, the utmost kindliness towards the chiefs of 
the army, and an incessant solicitude for the condi- 
tion of officers and soldiers. Enduring fatigue very 
well, he set a good example to all. His gentleness 
and courtesy inspired affection. Still, the sanitary 
conditions continued to disturb him. At the begin- 
ning of July there were twenty-five thousand sick 
men in the hospitals or infirmaries. A rather large 
number of Austrian prisoners had been transferred 
to Genoa. Napoleon HI. had given orders that they 
should be well treated and advances of money made 
to officers who needed it. The pain caused him by 
the calamities of war and his desire to lessen them 
was shown on every occasion. A messenger from 
the Emperor of Austria having come to reclaim 
the body of Prince Windischgratz, gloriously slain 
at Solferino, he received him with extreme kindness, 
and asked him to thank the Emperor Francis Joseph 
for his good treatment of the French prisoners. 

Q 



226 FRANCE AND ITALY 

However, no one as yet believed that the humane 
sentiments of Napoleon III. would make him lay 
down his arms before he had executed his pro- 
gramme : Italy free from the Alps to the Adriatic. 
{The moment seemed approaching when, according to 
all previsions, Austria would be attacked at once by 
land and sea, and the navy men believed that they, 
too, would have a great part to play. In the Adri- 
atic, a blockading fleet, composed of six ships of the 
line, two screw-frigates, two corvettes, and several 
transports, had been placed under the orders of Vice- 
Admiral Romain-Desfoss^s, and, since June 1, Rear- 
Admiral Jurien de La Gravi^re had been blockading 
Venice with four vessels. } Moreover, the Emperor 
had decided that the blockading fleet should be 
assisted by a besieging one composed of three float- 
ing batteries and twenty-one gunboats, under com- 
mand of Rear-Admiral Bouet-Willaumez. 

As a base of operations for the fleet. Napoleon III. 
had designated the island of Lossini, whose port, be- 
striding the two shores of the Adriatic, is an excellent 
shelter for vessels. Situated some twenty leagues 
from Venice, at the extremity of the archipelago of 
Quarnero, the island of Lossini is very nearly the 
central point^between Venice, Trieste, Pola, Fiume, 
and Zora, which are the principal maritime establish- 
ments on the Adriatic. July 3, the French squadron, 
commanded by Vice-Admiral Romain-Desfosses, occu- 
pied the island of Lossini. The Austrians had not 
offered the slightest resistance. ' 



THE LAST BAYS OF THE WAR 227 

Full of ardor and self-reliance, the fleet believed 
itself about to force the canals of Venice, enter the 
lagoons, and seize the forts dominating the city. Of 
the three principal entries which give access to the 
city of the doges from the sea, the Lido, Malamacco, 
and Chioggia, the latter had already been fixed upon 
as the point of attack. General de Wimpffen, made 
general of division after the battle of Magenta, had 
been selected as commander of a corps of all arms in- 
tended to effect a landing on the shores of the Adri- 
atic. Arriving at Rimini by way of Leghorn and 
Florence, he had at once placed himself in relations 
with the fleet, which merely awaited a signal to open 
the attack. The Venetian partisans of Victor Em- 
manuel were trembling with joy and expectation. 

I All seemed in readiness for a general and decisive 
aciion. j The park of artillery, intended to operate 
against the quadrilateral, was completed. Since July 
3, the first pieces had been at Pozzolongo. At the 
same time, the railway brought to Desenzano the 
unshipped gunboats which were to assist in the siege 
of Peschiera. 

To sum up, the Emperor had arranged the follow- 
ing combinations for attacking Venice : 1. On the 
left wing, to menace the Austrian right and disturb 
the line of the upper Adige by the operations of 
Garibaldi and General Cialdini in the mountains; 
2, on the right wing, to take Venice by the fleet 
and throw into it a strong detachment which, under 

cover of the fort of Malghera and the French vessels. 



228 FRANCE AND ITALY 

might undertake incursions on the Austrian line of 
retreat ; 3, at the centre, with Peschiera as a base of 
operations and the intervention of three hundred 
siege guns, to begin the siege of Verona. 
(^On July 6, all the commanders-in-chief of army 
corps, as well as those of the artillery and engineers, 
had received a precise and detailed order of move- 
ment from the Emperor. Everything was minutely 
provided for. Never had the sovereign fulfilled more 
zealously and conscientiously his r61e as commander- 
in-chief. J 

Dated from Valeggio, the order of movement 
began as follows : " The siege of Peschiera is an 
operation to which I attach great importance ; but 
it is clear that we cannot perform it with safety 
until after we have repelled an attack of the Aus- 
trians. According to the information I have received, 
it seems very probable that we shall be attacked to- 
morrow, in front and in flank, by the army from 
Verona and by another from the upper Adige. The 
Austrians occupied Pastrengo this morning. It is 
expedient, therefore, that to-morrow morning at 
daybreak the troops should take their position." 
Nest the Emperor indicated the place assigned to 
each army corps. The order of movement termi- 
nated as follows : "No baggage to be taken. The 
canteens to be filled with brandy and water; a 
light battalion to be left in charge of the camps. 
The men to take their knapsacks, containing noth- 
ing but biscuits and cartridges. All to leave their 



THE LAST BAYS OF THE WAR 229 

coats in camp and wear only their jackets. As soon 
as the enemy is in sight, artillery firing to begin. 
When the ground will admit of it, the infantry lines 
to be drawn up alternately in deployed battalions 
and double columned battalions. Useless skirmishes 
to be avoided, and, while the deployed battalions 
are making a file fire, the others will sound the 
charge and attack the enemy with the bayonet." 
(a great battle seemed imminent and certain.^ 



CHAPTER XXXI 

THE AEMISTICB 

"^TAPOLEON III. had made a long reconnois- 
sance on the heights of Somma-Compagna, 
July 6. Listen to General Fleuiy who accompanied 
him : " The heat was horrible ; the Emperor seemed 
anxious and preoccupied. We met several bands of 
soldiers on fatigue duty marching painfully. The 
atmosphere was heavy, and everything seemed omi- 
nous of great difficulties for the long sieges await- 
ing us. . . . Hardly had we re-entered Valeggio 
and alighted from our horses when the major-gen- 
eral, Marshal Vaillant, summoned me. ' There is a 
delicate mission to perform,' he said to me, ' and a 
man of initiative is needed to perform it. The Em- 
peror sends you to Verona ; be ready to start in ten 
minutes, order the carriage, and go to the Emperor 
who is waiting for you.' " 

The General at once ordered a postchaise, a 
mounted postilion to conduct it, and a trumpeter 
of guides who would sound the call to a parley at 
the outposts. Then, going upstairs to the Emperor, 
whom he found with Victor Emmanuel, he told them 
he was ready to set off. Napoleon III. said, " Here 

230 



THE ahmistice 231 



is a letter you are to carry to the Emperor of Austria. 
... I am appealing to his sentiments of humanity 
and proposing a cessation of hostilities in order to 
leave time for diplomacy to negotiate conditions of 
peace." He added: "I needed an ambassador who 
would be amiable and intelligent. I have chosen 
you." 

General Fleury had all the needful qualities for 
accomplishing the mission entrusted to him. Cour- 
teous, attractive, full of tact, better adapted to the 
diplomatic than the military career, he was a cour- 
tier in the best sense of the word. He pleased every 
sovereign with whom he came into relations. Per- 
sonally he might possibly have had something to 
gain by the continuation of the war. But, like all 
who were acquainted with the diplomatic situation, 
he understood the danger, and knew very well that 
if Napoleon III. should engage in a struggle with 
Austria backed by all Germany, in case of defeat he 
would be likely to lose his crown. Hence the Gen- 
eral ardently desired his mission to be successful. We 
learn its details from the letters he sent to his wife. 

He left Valeggio, July 6, at seven o'clock in the 
evening, accompanied by his aide-de-camp, M. de 
Verdiere, in an imperial post carriage. On the seat 
behind were a courier and a trumpeter of guides car- 
rying a flag of truce. As soon as he had left the 
French outguards behind him, he was escorted by 
Austrian foot-soldiers, and then by uhlans. In a few 
minutes the carriage rolled across the drawbridge 



232 FRANCE AND ITALY 

of Verona and entered the city, whose gaslighted 
streets contained promenaders and officers, all much 
surprised by the sight of a carriage bearing the arms 
of the Emperor of the French. On arriving at the 
palace occupied by Francis Joseph, the General was 
courteously received by Field-Marshal Hesse and 
Count Griinne, first aide-de-camp and grand equerry 
of the sovereign. The Emperor had already gone 
to bed, but he sent word that he would get up and 
receive him in an instant. In fact, at the end of a 
quarter of an hour Francis Joseph appeared. 

The letter of Napoleon III., written in lofty and 
chivalrous terms, was calculated to please the young 
monarch. After reading it, he said : " My dear Gen- 
eral, this is a very serious matter that you have 
brought me. I cannot give you a reply at once. I 
must reflect ; be good enough to wait until eight o'clock 
to-morrow morning, I must collect my thoughts." 
First replying that he was at His Majesty's orders, 
the General went on to urge the considerations mili- 
tating in favor of the armistice, concluding as follows: 
" Whatever may be the decision of Your Majesty, 
permit me to say that it is urgent that the answer 
should be prompt, since, as you perhaps are not 
aware, the French fleet is at present occupying the 
island of Lossini. At the first signal the attacks on 
the littoral of Venetia will commence. An expedi- 
tionary corps of four thousand men, under General 
Wimpffen, has rejoined Vice-Adniiral Romain- 
Desfosses." 



THE ARMISTICE 233 



" In fact," replied the Emperor, " I have just 
learned of the occupation of Lossini by French 
troops. But I have received nothing official from 
the courts, and I need to reflect. To-morrow morn- 
ing. General, I will give you my answer." 

In reality, Francis Joseph incurred fewer risks 
from a continuation of the war than Napoleon III., 
for even if he were completely vanquished, the sov- 
ereign of an old monarchy like Austria was not in 
danger of losing his throne, while the Emperor of the 
French, the chief of a young dynasty, needed to be 
always successful in order to maintain his position. 
If Francis Joseph inclined to peace, that was doubt- 
less on account of his repugnance to the policy of 
the cabinet of Berlin. He felt on one hand that the 
assistance of Prussia would be indispensable if he 
were to succeed, and on the other he disliked to owe 
anything to this rival power whose greed he dreaded. 
All that might augment the influence and favor 
the ambition of the HohenzoUerns awakened the 
instinctive suspicion of the head of the house of 
Hapsburg. 

Let us add that, like Napoleon III., the Austrian 
monarch had been deeply affected by the lamentable 
aspect of battlefields, and that his essentially hu- 
mane and generous character made him ardently 
desire the cessation of such calamities. 

It is curious to observe that the war which had 
just caused such torrents of blood to flow had created 
no personal animosity between the two sovereigns, 



234 FRANCE AND ITALY 

and even in the thickest of the struggle, neither had 
said a bitter word against the other ! 

General Fleury anxiously awaited the reply of the 
Emperor Francis. Treated with much attention by 
Marshal Hesse and the officers of the military house- 
hold, he passed the night in the chamber of Count 
Griinne, courteously ceded to him by the latter. 
At five o'clock in the morning, Prince Richard 
Metternich, son of the illustrious chancellor, came 
to him there. The Prince was then thirty years old. 
In great favor with Francis Joseph, he acted as 
intermediary between the sovereign and the Minis- 
ter of Foreign Affairs. He had formed part of the 
Austrian embassy to Paris, and, during that time, 
had maintained very cordial relations with General 
Fleury. " If peace is the result of the armistice," 
said the General to him, " as I hope it may be, the 
only thing I desire is to see you ambassador in 
France." This wish was to be realized. 

Towards eight o'clock in the morning, Francis 
Joseph sent for the envoy of Napoleon III., and read 
him his very noble and dignified reply. He accepted 
the armistice and begged the Emperor of the French 
to name the place where conditions of peace might be 
discussed. Then, after sealing the letter, he expressed 
his wish that the French fleet might be notified at 
once of the cessation of hostilities just agreed upon. 
Having already received from Napoleon III. the nec- 
essary authorization, General Fleury complied with 
the Emperor's desire, and wrote on the sovereign's 



THE ARMISTICE 235 



own table to Vice-Admiral Romain-Desfoss^s that he 
was obliged to countermand his orders. This letter, 
forwarded immediately to the governor-general of 
Venetia, at Venice, was sent the same day to Rear- 
Admiral Jurien de La Gravie^re, then cruising on 
the Venetian coast, and transmitted to Vice-Admiral 
Romain-Desfosses, who was much amazed the next 
morning by receiving it at the very moment when 
he was expecting to quit the isle of Lossini and 
attack Venice with the whole fleet. 

General Fleury is again the narrator: "Another 
word about the Emperor of Austria, whose attitude 
and bearing completely won me. Knowing how 
devoted I am to the Emperor, he entered into the 
most intimate details, asking about his health and 
habits, all with an air of deference which greatly 
pleased me. We had afterwards a rather long talk 
about the battle, and I took my leave. Some min- 
utes later, one of the aides-de-camp came and told 
me that, knowing that my aide-de-camp was with 
me, His Majesty desired to see him, and Verdiere 
had the honor of being presented." Much flattered 
by this attention, and retaining a most respectful 
and gratefal souvenir of Francis Joseph, General 
Fleury set out for Valeggio, no longer as a pro- 
tected envoy to an enemy, but as a messenger of 
his sovereign, his carriage with its windows open 
and blinds raised, and the uhlans acting as an es- 
cort of honor. At the village of Santa-Lucia he 
drank with an Austrian general to the approaching 



236 FRANCE AND ITALY 

peace and the glory of both nations. At eleven 
o'clock in the morning he passed the French out- 
posts. 

All the troops had been under arms since day- 
break. At four o'clock in the morning Napoleon III. 
had passed through the different lines with his staff 
on his way to the left of the 2d corps, commanded 
by Marshal Canrobert and occupying the space be- 
tween Valeggio and the slopes of Venturelli. Then, 
surveying in person the execution of the orders he 
had given the day before, he had followed at the head 
of the line of battle all the crests occupied by the dif- 
ferent army corps. 

Neither on June 4, the day of the battle of Magenta, 
nor on the 24th, that of Solferino, had the troops on 
rising in the morning suspected that a general battle 
would be fought before night. On July 8, on the 
contrary, every member of the army believed that a 
great battle would take place. No one suspected the 
pacific mission of General Fleury, and at half-past 
eleven, the moment when he returned to Valeggio, 
the troops could not understand why they had not 
yet encountered the enemy. 

General Fleury thus describes his arrival at the 
Emperor's headquarters at Valeggio : " I was ex- 
pected with great impatience. ... So when I said 
the words, Good news, and when I made the mo- 
tion of taking from my pocket the letter which I 
carried, before speaking, I saw what pleasure the 
certainty of a response already gave the Emperor. 



THE ARMISTICE 237 



It was all very well for him to resume his usual 
tranquillity after this first emotion which he had 
been unable to control, but I had surprised on his 
features, in a flash as it were, the impression of a 
great relief and a real satisfaction. ... I handed 
him the letter of the Emperor of Austria, which he 
read with eagerness, and gave him all the details of 
my mission. Kind and affectionate, as he always is, he 
rewarded me with the most flattering compliments." 

Towards one o'clock, to its great astonishment, 
the army received orders to leave its fighting posi- 
tions and go back to its cantonments. The taking 
of arms that morning had been its last warlike ser- 
vice in this campaign. 

The village of Villafranca, midway between Va- 
leggio and Verona, was named as the meeting place 
for the delegates commissioned to settle the condi- 
tions of the armistice. For Austria these were 
Field-Marshal Baron Hesse, chief of staff of the Aus- 
trian army, and General Count de Mensdorf-Pouilly ; 
for France, Marshal Vaillant, major-general of the 
French army, and General de Martimprey, assis- 
tant major-general ; for Sardinia, Lieutenant-General 
Count dolla llocca, first aide-de-camp of Victor Em- 
manuel and major-general of the Sardinian army. 

The delegates met at Villafranca, July 8, and 
settled tlie conditions of the armistice. Article 1 of 
the convention stipulated the suspension of arms. 
Article 2 provided that this suspension should last 
until August 15, without notice, and that in conse- 



238 FRANCE AND ITALY 

quence the hostilities, should occasion arise, would 
recommence without previous warning at noon on 
AuQ-ust 16. The works of attack and defence of 
Peschiera would remain during the suspension of 

« 

arms in their present condition. The arrangement 
indicated lines of demarkation to be strictly ob- 
served by the armies. Hostilities would cease at 
once by sea and land, and merchant vessels, with- 
out distinction of flags, might circulate freely in 
the Adriatic. 

The convention, signed July 8 by the delegates 
of the three powers, was ratified the same day by the 
three sovereigns. 

The next day, Napoleon HI, announced the armis- 
tice to the troops by the following order of the day, 
dated from his imperial headquarters of Valeggio : 

"Soldiers, — A suspension of arms was con- 
cluded, July 8, between the belligerent parties until 
the fifteenth of next August. This truce will per- 
mit you to rest from your glorious labors and, if 
needful, to imbibe new strength to renew the work 
you have so brilliantly inaugurated by your cour- 
age and devotion. I return to Paris, leaving the 
provisional command of my army to Marshal Vail- 
lant, major-general ; but, when the hour of combat 
sounds, you will again see me among you to share 
your dangers." 

At Paris, people read in the Moniteur : " There 
must be no misunderstanding of the meaning of the 



THE ARMISTICE 239 



suspension of arms agreed upon by the Emperor 
of the French and the Emperor of Austria. It is 
simply a truce between the belligerent armies, a truce 
which in clearing the ground for negotiations does 
not as yet permit the end of the war to be antici- 
pated." 

j^or the French the armistice was a surprise, and ^ 
for the Italians, a disappointment. Venice, which 
had believed the hour of her deliverance was about 
to strike, was inconsolable, and Count Cavour 
trembled with rage. Victor Emmanuel, more poli- 
tic, concealed his discontent^ Napoleon III., to con- 
sole him, told him at Valeggio that it was only a 
question of a truce, and that Austria would doubtless 
refuse the propositions that would be made to her. 
The King assembled his generals at his headquarters 
in Monzambano, and repeated the words of Napoleon 
III. However, Victor Emmanuel was under no 
illusion ; he was convinced that a peaceful solution 
would result from the interview which his powerful 
ally was about to have with the Emperor Francis 
Joseph. 



CHAPTER XXXII 

THE INTERVIEW OP VILLAFRANCA 

TDRINCE ALEXANDER of Hesse having come 
to the grand headquarters of the French army 
to confer with Napoleon III., it was learned that the 
two monarchs would meet during the morning of 
July 11. 

On the 10th, General Fleury wrote to his wife: 
"I think the young Emperor of Austria has con- 
sented to the interview only because he accepts the 
bases of the negotiations. That means peace, and 
the return of the army from here before very long. 
This is enormous news ; it is the dramatic stroke of 
moderation. . . . The Emperor seems enraptured, 
and so does everybody else. We shall not disturb 
ourselves any more for politics. The main thing 
is accomplished, and we have no further concern 
with it. I will describe to-morrow's interview for 
you as best I can. We are all going, the entire mili- 
tary household, with two squadrons, one of hundred- 
guards and one of guides. You may fancy whether 
we are getting ready to look fine." The General, 
who had been colonel of the regiment of guides, 
added : " My poor guides who have not had a chance 

240 



TRE INTERVIEW OF VILLAFBANGA 241 

to make a charge ! I am doubly sorry for it, first 
because I cannot have Mirandole made a general, 
and then on account of the regret I feel in not seeing 
my children able to brag a little." 

During the night of July 10-11, Francis Joseph 
sent one of his aides-de-camp, young Prince Hohen- 
lohe, to Valeggio to ask Napoleon III. to settle the 
question of the uniform in which Their Majesties 
and the two staffs should present themselves at the 
interview, and also the number and composition of 
the escorts. It was agreed that the sovereigns and 
their military households should be in field uniform 
and the escorts in full dress. The Emperors met 
at Villafranca at ten o'clock in the morning of 
July 11. 

July 11, 7.15 A. M. — Napoleon III. leaves Valeg- 
gio on horseback, with Marshal Vaillant on his left. 
Like all his staff, he wears the kepi. His military 
household is behind him. Thirty paces in the rear 
follow the hundred-guards. 

9 A. M. — Napoleon III. reaches Villafranca. 
Francis Joseph, a trifle late, not having arrived as 
yet, the Emperor of the French goes on towards 
Verona, intending, as an act of courtesy, to leave 
the place of rendezvous behind him and go to meet 
the Emperor of Austria. After covering in this way 
about the space of a kilometer, he perceives Francis 
Joseph, riding, like himself, at full gallop. The 
sovereigns stop, salute in military fashion, and then 
shake hands. With his usual tact. Napoleon III. 



242 FRANCE AND ITALY 

rides at the left of the Emperor of Austria, and they 
move towards Villafranca, accompanied by the mili- 
tary households and escorts. Arriving in the princi- 
pal street, they alight and go up to the first story of 
a house belonging to M. Gaudini-Morelli. A small 
salon has been made ready for them. The escorts get 
into line of battle in the street to left and right of 
the doorway. In front of this door all the aides-de- 
camp smoke and chat. 

The two monarchs are in presence of each other. 
Never, perhaps, has there been so important a meet- 
ing of sovereigns since that of Tilsit between the 
Emperors Napoleon I. and Alexander. On what 
Francis Joseph and Napoleon III. are going to 
say, on the mutual impression which they produce, 
depends peace or renewed slaughters, possibly a 
general conflagration extending over the greater 
part of Europe. The emperors open the conver- 
sation with perfect courtesy and calmness, like two 
accomplished gentlemen. One of them will be 
twenty-nine on the 18th of the following August; 
the other had been fifty-one the 20th of April. They 
had come to power in the same month of the same 
year, one having ascended the throne December 2, 
1848, the other elected president of the Republic on 
the 10th. Both have had an experience of men and 
things which is already long, and at certain moments 
painful ; both have made disagreeable reflections on 
the caprices of fortune and the responsibilities of 
supreme rank. Napoleon III. does not in the least 



THE INTERVIEW OF VILLAFBANCA 243 

assume tlie tone and manners of a victor. His lan- 
guage gives no suggestion of an ultimatum or a 
menace. He is touched by the youth, the misfor- 
tunes, and the dignity of his interlocutor, who must, 
at this moment, find the weight of a sceptre very 
heavy. On his side Francis Joseph is affected by the 
softness of Napoleon's voice, and by the affability 
and kindness depicted on his countenance. The 
Emperor of the French does not dictate conditions ; 
contenting himself with expressing wishes, he pro- 
poses the cession of Lombardy to Sardinia, the 
creation of a kingdom of Venetia under an Austrian 
prince, the establishment of an Italian Confederation 
under the presidency of the Pope, the concession of 
reforms in the Pontifical States, and, lastly, a Con- 
gress to settle the details of questions. Whereupon 
the Austrian monarch says : " I wish for peace, and 
I am about to give Your Majesty a proof of confi- 
dence by indicating the extent of the concessions I 
can make. ... I have lost Lombardy, but I will not 
give it to Sardinia. The utmost I can do is to cede 
it to France, which will do what she pleases with it. 
As to Venice, I still occupy it, and I cannot abandon 
what has not yet been conquered. Still, I feel that 
great changes there are necessary ; I will accomplish 
them, and Venice will be not merely satisfied but 
happy under my sceptre." 

Napoleon IH. has not conquered Venetia ; he has 
not even invaded it. Hence he cannot insist. He 
limits himself to assuming that Venetia will form 



244 FRANCE AND ITALY 

part of the Italian Confederation under the domin- 
ion of the Emperor of Austria. To this confedera- 
tion, of which the Holy Father would have the 
presidency, Francis Joseph makes no absolute objec- 
tion, but the details of its organization remain in 
the air. He also agrees to join France in asking 
the Pope for reforms, expressing, however, some 
doubts as to their urgency and also concerning the 
means of putting them into execution. The point 
he has most at heart is the restoration to their states 
of the Grand-Duke of Tuscany and the Duke of Mo- 
dena, both of whom have associated themselves with 
his fortune, and who are both Archdukes of Austria. 
This for His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty 
is a question of honor. Napoleon III. seems to com- 
prehend it, and promises to do all in his power to 
reinstate the two princes in their dominions, while 
granting a general amnesty and a Constitution. 
But what form shall the intervention of the two 
emperors take ? Ought it to be purely platonic, or, 
in case of need, a resort to force ? To insist on this 
point might endanger the result of the interview. 
Hence nothing is defined. The sovereigns declare 
themselves satisfied to have traced the great lines 
of their agreement. For the moment they demand 
nothing further. There is a table with pens, ink, 
and paper in front of them. They do not use it, 
but confine themselves to speech. They mutually 
confide in their good faith and their memory. The 
interview has lasted a little less than an hour. 



THE INTERVIEW OF VILLAFEANOA 245 

After coining out of the house where their inter- 
view has taken place, Napoleon III. and Francis 
Joseph present to each other by name the members 
of their military households. The French monarch 
is extremely amiable to Field-Marshal Baron Hesse, 
who, born in 1788, is the veteran of the Austrian 
army. 

" Sir Marshal," he says, " I am proud of having 
been able to make war in face of a glorious 
soldier of Wagram." The valiant warrior has re- 
tained the bearing of a young man. The fifty years 
which have elapsed between Wagram and Solferino 
seem barely to have touched him. 

Like Napoleon III. Francis Joseph has brought 
as escort only two squadrons, one of Court gen- 
darmes and the other of uhlans. The Emperor of 
the French passes them in review and declares they 
are magnificent. The Emperor of Austria, after 
inspecting the squadron of hundred-guards and that 
of guides, eulogizes them as highly. 

General Fleury writes in his Souvenirs : " I greatly 
fear that such fine troops will never be seen in France 
again. All the army uniforms have been reduced to 
a democratic level. Infantry, cavalry, wagon-trains, 
all look alike. It is scarcely observed that, under 
pretext of simplifying the provision of clothing, our 
War Ministers — who are changed every year — are 
in this way destroying the esprit de corps, that self- 
love of a regiment which, at a given moment, en- 
genders extraordinary feats." 



246 FRANCE AND ITALY 

Wishing to return the politeness shown by Napo- 
leon III. in going beyond Villafranca to meet him, 
Francis Joseph rides about a kilometer on the road 
from Villafranca to Valeggio with the French sov- 
ereign. The emperors take friendly leave of each 
other. Thus, at the very moment when so many 
victims have just been flung into the graves com- 
mon to the combatants of the three armies, at the 
moment when a great number of sick and wounded 
are suffering and dying in the hospitals where they 
have been huddled, the two sovereigns who caused 
the war, are amicably shaking hands. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

THE PEELIMINARIES OF PEACE 

/~\N his return to Valeggio, Napoleon III. found 
^■^"^ Victor Emmanuel, to whom he related all that 
had just taken place. The abrupt solution, which 
did not more than half realize his expectations, was 
a great disappointment to the King. But this 
monarch, very shrewd and subtle under his rude 
exterior, was too politic to endeavor to shun the 
inevitable. He offered neither objection nor re- 
crimination to his powerful ally, and contented him- 
self with saying: "Whatever may be the decision 
of Your Majesty, I shall be eternally grateful for 
what you have done for the cause of Italian inde- 
pendence, and you may rely in all circumstances on 
my entire fidelity." 

Nothing had been written at Villafranca. At 
Valeggio, Napoleon III. took a paper on which he 
put the conditions which, if his memory were faith- 
ful, had been agreed upon between him and the 
Emperor of Austria. He charged Prince Napoleon 
to carry this to Francis Joseph at Verona, and 
return with the signature of the sovereign. This 

was not a mere formality, and Napoleon III. dreaded 

247 



248 FBANCE AND ITALY 

lest difficulties miglit arise when there was no 
longer question of a conversation, but of a written 
agreement. 

At Paris, the cousin of the Emperor was often 
accused of too democratic manners. Abroad, he was 
always very correct, and whenever he found him- 
self in relations with sovereigns or princes, there 
was nothing to criticise in his bearing or his lan- 
guage. Moreover, he was very intelligent, very 
apt, extremely conversant with diplomatic affairs 
and the usages of courts. In designating him for 
this delicate and important mission, the Emperor 
did something that pleased Victor Emmanuel, who, 
knowing the ideas and sentiments of his son-in-law 
concerning Italy, was well aware that the Prince 
would do all he could for her. 

There was no time to be lost. As Marshal Moltke 
has written in his history of the Italian campaign 
of 1859, "Prussia was completely armed. The 
mobilization of two-thirds of her military forces was 
completed. The rest was on a war footing. The 
troops were already on the march towards the first 
places of assembly. It was no longer a secret that 
the transport of soldiers by railway towards the 
Rhine was to begin on July 15, and that within 
a very short time an army of two hundred and fifty 
thousand men would be gathered there, which the 
contingents of other German States were ready to 
join." 

French and Bonaparte on his father's side, but 



THE PRELIMIN ABIES OF PEACE 249 

German through his mother, the daughter of the 
first King of Wiirtemberg, Prince Napoleon knew 
Germany perfectly. He had been brought up there, 
and knew all that might be dreaded from it. The 
extent and gravity of the danger did not escape him ; 
he desired to make every effort to dispel it without 
losing a minute. 

Napoleon III. had re-entered Valeggio at one 
o'clock in the afternoon. At half-past two, a post- 
chaise with four horses took Prince Napoleon to 
Verona, which he reached two hours later, and 
presented himself at the imperial headquarters. 
Francis Joseph affably extended his hand and led 
him into his study. The Prince gave the details to 
Baron de Bazancourt, who has introduced them into 
his remarkable history of the campaign of Italy. 

The Austrian Emperor expressed himself as fol- 
lows : " I set the example of frankness this morning 
by telling the Emperor Napoleon explicitly what 
were the limits of the concessions I could make 
consistently with my honor and the interests of my 
crown. But, be well assured that if you have a 
public opinion to conciliate, I have one also, and it 
is all the more exacting because it is I who am 
making all the sacrifices." 

The paper drawn up by Napoleon III. contained 
seven paragraphs. Francis Joseph and Prince Na- 
poleon examined them one by one. 

1. The two sovereigns will favor the formation of 
an Italian Confederation. 



250 FRANCE AND ITALY 

This paragraph roused no objection. The Con- 
federation was established in principle. Its organi- 
zation was to be regulated by a Congress. 

2. This Confederation will be under the honorary 
presidency of the Pope. 

Francis Joseph desired the word honorary to be 
expunged. The Prince persuaded him to allow it 
to stand. 

3. The Mmperor of Austria cedes his rights over 
Lomhardy to the Emperor of the French, who, in 
accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants, ivill 
resign them to the King of Sardinia. 

This paragraph gave rise to grave disputes. 
Francis Joseph would not accept the words : in 
accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants. " For 
my part," said he, " I know no rights but those 
written in the treaties. According to those, Lom- 
bardy is mine. The fortune of war being against 
me, I agree to cede that province to the Emperor 
Napoleon, but I do not recognize the ' wishes of 
the inhabitants,' which, to my mind, means the 
right of revolution. If you choose to employ that 
expression in addressing the King of Sardinia, it 
is no affair of mine, but you can understand that 
the Emperor of Austria is unable to accept such 
language." 

Prince Napoleon did not insist, and the words 
were suppressed. 

A still more serious question came up. The 
Emperor of Austria declared in peremptory terms 



THE PRELIMINARIES OF PEACE 251 

that the two fortified cities of Peschiera and Mantua 
were not included in the cession of Lombardy. He 
said: "I cannot oblige my army to evacuate forti- 
fied towns which it occupies and retains possession 
of; honor forbids me. I could understand the 
Emperor's demanding to keep Peschiera if the 
allied army had seized it ; but my troops are there 
still. Make it plain to him that, even if such were 
my personal wish, it would be impossible for me to 
cede any of my fortresses." || 

4. Venetia forms part of the Italian Confederation^ 
remaining^ however^ under the crown of the Emperor of 
Austria. 

This paragraph was adopted without discussion. 

5. The two sovereigns will make every effo7't, re- 
course to arms excepted, to maintain the Grrand-Duke 
of Tuscany and the Duke of Modena in their domin- 
ions, they giving a Constitution and a general aynnesty. 

This was the delicate point, and unless something 
were clearly specified, no mutual understanding 
could be arrived at. 

The words, recourse to arms excepted, were not 
admitted by Francis Joseph. He saw in them an 
indirect apjjeal to insurrection and an encourage- 
ment to the people to persevere in the path of revo- 
lution. On the other hand, he knew that nothing 
would induce Napoleon III. to resort to force for the 
sake of reinstating the two princes. How then could 
it be accomplished ? The difficulty was insurmount- 
able. 



252 FRANCE AND ITALY 

The Emperor of Austria did not go so far as io 
require that the two relatives in whom he was so 
greatly interested, and who, in their quality as arch- 
dukes, were considered as actually his lieutenants, 
should be reinstated by either Austrian or French 
bayonets. But he said that the Duke of Modena 
hoped to be able to re-establish himself in his duchy 
by means of the battalions which had remained loyal 
to him, and that the Grand-Duke of Tuscany was not 
far from arriving at an understanding with his sub- 
jects. For the moment the emperors must confine 
themselves to recognizing the principle of the restora- 
tion of the princes. 

6. The two sovereigns will ask the Holy Father to 
introduce the necessary reforms in his States, and to 
separate the Legations administratively from the rest of . 
the States of the Church. 

Francis Joseph admitted the reforms, and even 
substituted the word indispensable for necessary, but 
he requested the suppression of the second part of 
the sentence, on the ground that only a Congress 
could decide whether the Legation must be separated 
administratively from the rest of the Pontifical 
dominions. 

7. Full and complete amnesty is accorded on both 
sides to persons compromised by recent events in the 
territories of the belligerent parties. 

This final paragraph was in accordance with the 
general sentiments of both emperors, and was ac- 
cepted without the slightest hesitation. 



THE PRELIMINABIES OF PEACE 253 

No mention, it will be observed, was made of the 
duchy of Parma in either paragraph. As the duchess- 
regent, the sister of the Count of Chambord, had 
never been willing to submit herself to Austrian 
policy, Francis Joseph did not feel bound to defend 
the rights of her son. Hence Prince Napoleon 
sought to induce him to recognize the annexation of 
the duchy to Sardinia, but the Emperor of Austria 
would have nothing to do with it. All he said was : 
" There must be no question of the duchy of Parma 
in these preliminaries. The duchess-regent is not a 
princess of my family. But I cannot cede States 
which do not belong to me." 

Meanwhile, the interview had already lasted more 
than two hours without an agreement having been 
reached on several of the essential points. Prince 
Napoleon remarked that his sovereign had ordered 
him to be back at Valeggio by ten o'clock at latest. 
"Very well," said the Emperor, rising, "you shall 
have my answer presently." And he showed his 
interlocutor to the apartment that had been made 
ready for him. A dinner was served to His Imperial 
Highness, at which two officers of the military house- 
hold of the Emperor bore him company. 

The sovereign came to the Prince at half-past 
seven in the evening. " Here is my written reply," 
said he ; " you may carry it to the Emperor Napo- 
leon." The text of it was as follows : — 

1. The two sovereigns will favor the creation of 
an Italian Confederation ; 



254 FBANGE AND ITALY 

2. This Confederation will be under the honorary 
presidency of the Holy Father ; 

3. The Emperor of Austria cedes his rights over 
Lombardy to the Emperor of the French, with the 
exception of the fortresses of Mantua and Peschiera, 
so that the frontier of the Austrian possessions shall 
start from the extremity of the fortress of Peschiera 
and extend in a straight line along the Mincio as far 
as Grazie; from there to Scarzarola and Suzana on 
the Po, whence the existing frontiers will continue 
to form the boundaries of Austria. The Emperor of 
the French will remit the ceded territory to the King 
of Sardinia ; 

4. Venetia will form part of the Italian Confed- 
eration, remaining, however, under the Austrian 
crown ; 

5. The Grand-Duke of Tuscany and the Duke of 
Modena will return to their States, giving a general 
amnesty ; 

6. The two emperors will ask the Holy Father to 
introduce the indispensable reforms in his States ; 

7. Full and complete amnesty is accorded on both 
sides to persons compromised on account of recent 
events in the territories of the belligerent parties. 

Prince Napoleon perceived that this was Francis 
Joseph's last word, and that he would accept no 
modification of his text. Hence he asked him to sign 
it. The sovereign replied : " I cannot pledge myself 
if the Emperor Napoleon does not do the same. It 
is impossible for me to sign such conditions without 



THE PBELIMINARIES OF PEACE 255 

being certain that they will be accepted by him." 
Prince Napoleon replied: "Sire, I give Your Maj- 
esty my word of honor as an honest man, that you 
will receive this very paper to-morrow morning with 
the signature of the Emperor Napoleon." 

Francis Joseph then concluded to sign. After- 
wards he said : " I am making a great sacrifice in 
ceding one of my finest provinces like this. But, if 
we can come to an understanding about Italian affairs 
with the Emperor Napoleon, there will be no further 
cause of dissension between us." 

The clock struck eight. The sovereign and the 
Prince remained together for some moments longer, 
but without exchanging a further word on politics. 
Then Francis Joseph went to the head of the stairs 
with the cousin of Napoleon III. and held out his 
hand, saying : " Till we meet, Prince ; I hope it will 
be no longer as enemies." 

Prince Napoleon was back at Valeggio at ten 
o'clock. As soon as the Emperor had read the paper 
signed by Francis Joseph, his face lighted up with 
joy, and he embraced his cousin warmly. The next 
day he signed the paper and sent it to the Emperor 
of Austria with an autograph letter. The prelimina- 
ries of peace were definitively concluded. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

THE KESIGNATIOK OF CAVOUR 

^ I ^HE man who had most ardently desired the con- 
tinuation of the war was Count Cavour. His 
revolutionary policy was roundly blamed by the 
minister of France at Turin, Prince de La Tour 
d'Auvergne. This essentially conservative diploma- 
tist, extremely hostile to the project of Italian unity, 
wrote to Count Walewski, July 8, 1859, concerning 
the Piedmontese minister, who was already making 
open preparations for annexations : " The devouring 
activity of his mind, his ambition, the adventurous 
character of his genius, nearly always get the better 
of his reason. Hence, whatever appearances may 
be, it would be a singular delusion to fancy that 
M. Cavour is sincerely abandoning the more or less 
loyal and regular methods to which he has too often 
resorted, and which, one must admit, have sometimes 
been successful. For my part, I am under no man- 
ner of illusion. I have made frequent experience of 
my powerlessness, and I know of but one really se- 
rious means of opposing the impatiences and whims 
of M. de Cavour, and that is the firm and categorical 
will of the Emperor. With that exception, I see 
no remedy." 

256 




COUNT CAVOUR 



THE RESIGNATION OF CAVOUR *257 

No sooner had the Prime Minister learned by a let- 
ter from General de La Marmora that the armistice 
just concluded was a long truce which might lead to 
peace, than, concealing neither his vexation nor his 
anger, he set off for the camp, hoping to induce the 
King and the Emperor to abandon all pacific inten- 
tions. At daybreak, July 10, he arrived from Turin 
at Desenzano, and during the day at Mozambano, 
headquarters of the Sardinian army. Victor Em- 
manuel was at the Melchiarri villa, where he received 
the minister, but was not in the least affected by his 
rage. Cavour vainly entreated his master to refuse 
incomplete enfranchisement, to summon all Italy to 
his aid, and to go on with the war even without the 
support of Napoleon III. Victor Emmanuel took 
good care not to accept such bad advice. The same 
day the foolhardy minister saw Prince Napoleon, 
who gave him no hope, but he was not admitted to 
an audience with the Emperor. The next day, July 
11, he tried to see Prince Napoleon again ; but the 
Piince had gone to Verona to arrive at an under- 
standing with Francis Joseph on the preliminaries of 
peace. Cavour knew the text of these in the even- 
ing, and the morning of July 12, after handing in 
his resignation, he departed in great exasperation. 
The violence of the minister had ended by making 
the sovereign weary. He said to him, " Peace is 
being made without me ; I am not the strongest ; do 
not bother me." 

Victor Emmanuel frequently needed Cavour, but 



258 FRANCE AND ITALY 

did not really like him. Very jealous of his author- 
ity and proud of his race, the head of the house of 
Savoy could not accustom himself to the presum- 
ing manners and dominating tone of his ambitious 
minister, and was unwilling to seem a new Louis 
XIII. obliged to wear the yoke of a Richelieu. Vic- 
tor Emmanuel was a sovereign who allowed no one 
to lead him. When he thought it necessary, he was 
able to make his subjects take his own view, and to 
prove to all men the strength of his will. Moreover, 
the King was in the right, for nothing could have 
been more fatal to Piedmont than a broil with Napo- 
leon III. 

Cavour was doubtless a clever statesman ; never- 
theless, as a disciple of Machiavelli he was inferior 
to Victor Emmanuel, who, the day after the prelimi- 
naries of Villafranca, comprehended the situation 
far better than his minister. He remembered that 
" Patience and delay do more than force or fury." 
Instead of facing great difficulties, he eluded them, 
he put them off. Forced to bow to accomplished 
facts, he was careful, even while giving his adhe- 
sion to the preliminaries of Villafranca, to stipulate 
to his advantage his future freedom of action, liberta 
d'operare, as he called it. " I approve as far as I 
am concerned," was his reply to the Emperor. This 
meant that he reserved to the Tuscans, Modenese, 
Parmesans, and Romagnols the faculty of disposing 
of their destiny. If, instead of confining himself to 
this mental reservation, he had broken violently 



THE RESIGNATION OF CAVOUB 259 

with Napoleon III. as Count Cavour advised, he 
would have placed his kingdom between the ham- 
mer and anvil of France and Austria. 

The King made a formal entry into Milan by the 
eastern gate and the Corso, July 13, towards five 
o'clock in the afternoon. The division of French 
infantry, under General d'Hugues, had just arrived 
from Lyons. Its troops formed the line on the 
Duomo square. Entering the palace, Victor Em- 
manuel received the French generals d' Hugues, de 
Bailliencourt, de Bdville, and Suau. In an interest- 
ing volume entitled: Military/ Leaves, General de 
Bailliencourt has given some curious details concern- 
ing this reception. He says : " The King, still cov- 
ered with noble dust, in a very untidy uniform, 
affected the attitudes of a captain of hussars of the 
First Empire. . . . Raising his eyes to the ceiling, 
holding his head absurdly high, he said to us : 
' Well ! gentlemen, I am not content, and you ought 
not to be so either, for all you have done is to come 
here, and the peace deprives you of all hope of wit- 
nessing such victories as we have gained ! Your 
army has rendered us great service ; . . . yours and 
mine have fought like two sisters ; . . . I am only a 
soldier ; I do not like lawyers, I do not care much 
about my kingdom, all I like is battles. I had built 
castles in the air ; I expected to make war for two 
years, and I have only been allowed to do so for two 
months ; I hoped to go round the world with the 
French soldiers. I would have been willing to have 



260 FRANCE AND ITALY ' 

several ribs broken on condition of being able to go 
on fighting. ... At the battle of Solferino, it was 
I who had them fire the last guns of the day, with 
thirty-eight pieces in battery." 

Reverting finally to the idea he had first expressed, 
the valiant monarch said : " I do not like lawyers. 
Do you, General ? " addressing himself to General 
d'Hugues. The latter replied, "Your Majesty is 
right, lawyers belong to a degenerate age." Victor 
Emmanuel returned : "And yet I am going to have 
a new affair with them. All the same, I shall be 
able to put them in their place. . . . That Cavour, 
I made him, and now he comes here with his resigna- 
tion ! I gave him a very bad reception. Better still, 
he is going to make speeches in a caf^ to increase his 
popularity ! What would you have me do with such 
a lawyer as that ? . . . All the same, he had better 
be careful, I shall keep my eyes open. . . . He 
won't lose anything by waiting. I will contrive 
something for him." 

To this story, which one would scarcely believe to 
be authentic but for the perfect respectability of its 
narrator, General de Bailliencourt adds : " We went 
out, unable to believe either our eyes or our ears. . . 
I made a note of it at once, and so did my compan- 
ions, wishing to keep exact the memory of this very 
original interview, and to preserve its every feature 
with scrupulous care." On returning to Turin, 
Cavour said that he was not merely no longer presi- 
dent of the Council, but that he would sooner become 



THE RESIGNATION OF CAVOUB 261 

a conspirator than lend a hand to such a bargain as 
had just been concluded. However, his compatriots 
put no faith in his definitive retirement. " Cavour 
is going away," said they, " but he has a return 
ticket in his pocket." 



CHAPTER XXXV 

^ THE EMPEEOE's EETUEN 

■^MTAPOLEON III. made ready to go back to 
France. July 12, he resigned the chief com- 
mand of the army of Italy to Marshal Vaillant and 
issued the following proclamation to the troops from 
the imperial headquarters of Valeggio : — 

" Soldiers ! 

"The bases of peace are agreed upon with the 
Emperor of Austria ; the chief object of the war has 
been attained. For the first time Italy is about to 
become a nation. 

" A Confederation of all the States of Italy, under 
the honorary presidency of the Holy Father, will 
reunite in group the members of a single family. 
Venetia remains, it is true, under the Austrian 
sceptre ; nevertheless it will be an Italian province 
and form part of the Confederation. 

" The reunion of Lombardy to Piedmont creates 
for us on this side of the Alps a powerful ally which 
will be our debtor for its independence ; govern- 
ments remaining outside of the movement, or rein- 
stated in their possessions, will comprehend the 
necessity of salutary reforms. 

262 



THE empeeob's betubn 263 

"A general amnesty will remove the traces of 
civil discords. Mistress henceforward of her own 
destiny, Italy will have no one but herself to blame 
if she does not make uniform progress in order and 
liberty. 

"You will soon return to France; the grateful 
country will receive with transports the soldiers who 
have carried so high the glory of our arms at Mon- 
tebello, Palestro, Turbigo, Magenta, Marignan, and 
Solferino; who in two months have liberated Pied- 
mont and Lombardy, and who have halted only 
because the war was about to assume proportions no 
longer in relation with the interests which France 
had in this formidable struggle. 

"Be proud, then, of your success, proud of the 
results obtained, proud above all of being the beloved 
children of that France which will always be the 
great nation so long as she has a heart that can un- 
derstand great causes and men like you to defend 



them.^^ 



The Emperor left his headquarters at Valeggio 
the same day. The guard was ordered to go into its 
first encampments at Desenzano, and the different 
army corps began leaving the banks of the Mincio, 
where their concentration was no longer useful, in 
order to be distributed in the great centres of Lom- 
bardy. 

Napoleon III. made a halt at Desenzano. The tran- 
quil beauty of the place seemed grateful to him after 
the painful emotions awakened by the horrid sights 



264 FRANCE AND ITALY 

of war. On the shore of Lake Garda were the now 
useless gunboats prepared at great expense for the 
siege of Peschiera. These he presented to Victor 
Emmanuel. 

July 14, the Emperor made an entry at Milan 
which was not less brilliant than that of June 8. The 
railway station was adorned as for a fete. At a little 
after five o'clock, Prince Carignan arrived there to 
meet the two sovereigns. The French and Pied- 
montese troops made the line with the national 
militia. On their way to the Royal Palace Their 
Majesties, riding in an open carriage, were vehe- 
mently applauded by a crowd whose enthusiasm 
amounted to frenzy. " The Emperor seemed calm," 
writes General de Bailliencourt, an eye-witness, 
" and it pleased me to see once more on his counte- 
nance that poetic expression which is peculiarly his 
own." 

On reaching the Royal Palace, Napoleon III. im- 
mediately received the generals who came to escort 
him. As they were expressing their admiration for 
his triumphs, he answered with profound sadness : 
" But what losses ! What bloodshed ! " 

A dinner of one hundred covers was served at 
half-past six in the magnificent gallery of the palace. 
" Seated almost opposite the Emperor," adds General 
de Bailliencourt, " I did not lose a movement of the 
principal actors in the great drama just enacted. 
Napoleon III. had Victor Emmanuel on his right and 
Prince Napoleon on his left. He seemed visibly 



TEE empebob's betubn 265 

preoccupied. The King, always unreserved and 
petulant, loudly regretted the two years of campaign- 
ing he had been counting on. War is a game for him, 
on much the same footing as the chase. . . . The 
Emperor, addressing himself to all, inquired with 
great interest for news of Marshal de Castellane 
(commander-in-chief of the army of Lyons), quoting 
for us several passages from the admirable letter he 
had received from him, requesting to be allowed to 
march under no matter what command. " 

The generals quitted the palace at half-past eight. 
The city was splendid. The illuminated houses, the 
thousands of parti-colored lanterns waving in the 
breeze, produced a magical effect. " A curious, enor- 
mous crowd," says General de Bailliencourt again, 
"encumbers the square through which we pass. 
People throng about us ; children cling to the tails 
of our coats ; women hang on our arms and kiss our 
hands, while men want to carry us in triumph." 

Milan has retained an affectionate and grateful 
memory of Napoleon III. and of France. The same 
has not always been true of other great Italian cities. 

On returning to the Gonfalonieri palace where 
he lodged. General de Bailliencourt learned that 
a despatch from Turin, which came that evening, 
announced that the turbulent disposition of the 
population was displaying hostility to the Emperor, 
who was expected there. Angry demonstrations 
had occurred. Portraits of His Majesty in the 
shops had been torn down by a crowd who substi- 



266 FRANCE AND ITALY 

tuted those of Mazzini and Orsini in their stead. 
Apprised of these details, Napoleon III. had just 
ordered General de Bailliencourt's brigade to start 
for Turin at once. 

The same day, July 14, Prince de La Tour d'Au- 
vergne, minister of France in that city, wrote to 
Count Walewski : " The news that peace has been 
signed has caused a profound sensation at Turin. 
The clauses relating to Venetia have created especial 
dissatisfaction. Austria's possession of this province 
and the fortresses of Mantua, Peschiera, Verona, and 
Legnano is considered as a continual menace for 
the security and independence of Piedmont. Nor 
do people entertain more favorably the idea of an 
Italian Confederation which obliges Piedmont to live 
in close alliance with Austria. ... A rumor is being 
circulated that England will refuse to recognize a 
state of things in the arrangement of which she has 
not intervened. Count Cavour's resignation has 
been the cap sheaf. The disturbance is greater 
to-day than it was yesterday. Orsini's portrait has 
been substituted for that of the Emperor in every 
picture-shop in the city. The attitude of the press 
is equally hostile. It should be the part of the 
Government under such circumstances to tranquil- 
lize public opinion by enlightening it, but it has 
abstained from intervention. It is greatly to be 
desired that Count Arese, who has agreed to accept 
Cavour's place, may succeed in recalling to order 
the evidently distracted public mind." 



THE emperor's return 267 

At three o'clock in the afternoon of July 15, 
Prince de La Tour d'Auvergne sent this telegraphic 
despatch to Count Walewski : " The Emperor is to 
arrive at Turin about five o'clock. The people are 
in a better humor. A notification of the syndic 
inviting the inhabitants to illuminate their houses 
in honor of the coming of Their Majesties is read 
quietly. The portraits of Orsini have been with- 
drawn. M. Irvoy (chief of police charged to secure 
the Emperor's safety) begs you to communicate this 
despatch to the Minister of the Interior." 

Meanwhile Napoleon III. and Victor Emmanuel 
were on the way to Turin by rail. The train passed 
Magenta. The Emperor, much affected, glanced at 
the city station and the Naviglio Grande. He re- 
called the prodigies of valor performed by his guard 
at this spot, and the cruel perplexities, the anguish 
he had himself endured at the moment when victory 
seemed so doubtful, even so improbable. It is a 
striking spectacle to find a battlefield calm and 
empty which one has seen in the midst of all the 
agitations and horrors of carnage. Impassible and 
serene, nature has forgotten it all. The song of 
birds has replaced the noise of cannon, shells, and 
bullets. Grass has covered over the trenches where 
the victims of war are sleeping their last slumber. 
What a contrast between two aspects of a single 
place ! 

Towards four o'clock in the afternoon of July 15, 
the troops formed the line in the principal streets 



268 FBANCE AND ITALY 

of Turin. A number of Piedmontese generals, 
under command of old General de Sonnaz, were 
awaiting the two sovereigns. Cavour, in an elegant 
carriage drawn by fine English horses, had also gone 
to the station. One of his horses was seized with 
vertigo and fell, nearly upsetting the carriage. Cavour 
had to go a little way on foot, and more than one 
superstitious Italian saw a bad omen in this slight 
accident. 

The clocks were striking five when the imperial 
and royal train arrived. Napoleon III. shook hands 
with the ex-Prime Minister, but without speaking. 
A rumor had been spread that there would be 
national guards along the route taken by the sover- 
eigns, who would lower their arms and utter offen- 
sive cries. Nothing of the kind occurred, but it 
was undeniable that the crowd cheered the King 
much more than the Emperor. The procession 
halted in the second court of the palace, and 
Napoleon III. occupied the fine apartments on the 
ground floor formerly inhabited by King Charles 
Albert. There was a grand dinner at which Cavour 
was not present. But the Emperor had him sum- 
moned during the evening and conversed very 
kindly with him. 

" I am unwilling," he said to him, " that we should 
part on ill terms. It is not strictly true that I may 
have refused to receive you. Only, what could I 
have said to you? ... It would have taken three 
hundred thousand men to go on with the campaign, 



THE emperor's RETURN 269 

and I did not have them." Cavour having laid 
stress on the forlorn situation of the abandoned 
provinces, Napoleon III. replied, "I will have their 
cause pleaded in the Congress." Then the two 
former associates of Plombi^res separated, never 
again to meet. 

The Emperor left the Piedmontese capital at six 
o'clock the next morning. Possibly he had selected 
this early hour because he had no confidence in the 
good dispositions of the inhabitants so far as he 
was concerned. Not a flag was in any window. 
The streets were almost empty. Acclamations were 
very few. Victor Emmanuel, his staff. Prince de 
Carignan, and the members of the French legation 
accompanied the Emperor to Suse, where the mac- 
adamized road ended. There, after cordially em- 
bracing Victor Emmanuel and Prince Carignan, 
and shaking hands with those surrounding them. 
Napoleon III. entered a travelling carriage which 
ascended Mont Cenis and redescended towards 
Saint- Jean de Maurienne, where he boarded a train. 
His passage through Chamb^ry gave occasion for 
manifestations which seemed like a first omen of 
the annexation of Savoy to France. M. Grand 
Thorane, French consul at Chambdry, Avrote to 
Prince de La Tour d'Auvergne : " The Emperor has 
been received here with enthusiasm by all that is 
good in the population, which is certainly the im- 
mense majority, and it is certain that there would have 
been a much larger crowd had the intendant-general 



270 FRANCE AND ITALY 

taken care to apprise the people of the time of his 
arrival. If it had been known in the neighboring 
communes, there would have been a still greater 
throng on the roads by which he came. The syndic 
would not permit the firemen to go to the station, 
because the corps is composed of orderly men whose 
sentiments towards the Emperor are well known, 
and he was not anxious for him to hear their unani- 
mous acclamations. The archbishop and the first 
president of the court of appeals, who went to the 
station, had not been notified." 

Napoleon III. noticed that Savoy was well-inclined 
towards him and his empire. Perhaps, after having 
done a great deal for Italy, he was now thinking of 
doing something for France. 



CHAPTER XXXVI 

SAINT-CLOUD 

A FTER passing through Savoy, which he was 
to annex to France the following year, the 
Emperor went on to Saint-Cloud without further 
delay, ^n spite of the incognito he preserved on 
his rapid journey, the people assembled at the rail- 
way stations and acclaimed the victorious sovereign 
as he passed. July 17, at ten in the morning, he 
arrived by the enclosed railway at the palace of 
Saint-Cloud, where he was received on alighting 
from the train by the Empress and the Prince 
Imperial, whom he embraced with much affection. 
When the Emperor asked the little Prince if he 
recognized his father, the child seemed rather humil- 
iated by such a doubt. There were tears of joy in 
the eyes of all present^ 

Napoleon III. possessed the family feelings in a 
very high degree. Under a cold exterior and a mask 
of absolute impassibility, he concealed an almost 
womanly sensitiveness and a very affectionate na- 
ture. A melancholy impression blended with his 
happiness. He was thinking of so many others, less 
fortunate than he, who would never return, and 

271 



272 FRANCE AND ITALY 

whose mothers, wives, and children were even now 
weeping for them. The ch§;teau of Saint-Cloud, 
with the sweet coolness of its venerable shades, 
its cascades, and its fountains, did not make him 
forget the prostrating heat of the Italian battlefields, 
the clouds of dust, the agonies of the fight, the 
horrors of the carnage, (^t noon he heard Mass 
in the chapel in thanksgiving to God. He after- 
wards received the imperial family, the members of 
the privy council, the ministers, the persons of his 
household and that of the Empress. 

Countess Stephanie de Tascher de La Pagerie was 
present at this reception. " The Emperor," she says, 
" was calm, content, unaffected as usual. He looked 
well, his tanned complexion showed that he had 
been exposed to the ardors of the sun of Italy. He 
went from one to another, kindly, affectionate, and 
while moving about told us certain details. But he 
insisted on one point, namely, that on finding himself 
here again, it seemed that all this campaign, so rich 
in incidents, in episodes of all descriptions, had been 
a dream. . . . What a dream ! " ) 

All the news the Emperor received, all the reflec- 
tions he made upon the situation of Europe, inclined 
him to congratulate himself on having tempted for- 
tune no further. He knew that if he had not made 
haste to sign the preliminaries of peace, the entrance 
of Prussia and all the other States of the Germanic 
Confederation upon the scene would have been 
merely a question of days, of hours. The French 



SAINT- CLOUD 273 



generals surrounding him criticised the Prussian 
landwehr, some of them going so far as to compare it 
with the national guard. Napoleon III., who had 
been brought up in Germany, knew how erroneous 
such an appreciation was. He was aware that the 
landwehr was a real army, and he recognized that 
the present effective forces of the French troops 
were not large enough to permit them to triumph 
simultaneously on the Adige and the Rhine. When 
he closely considered the matter, he was amazed that 
the Emperor of Austria, who occupied formidable 
positions in the quadrilateral, should have given up 
the struggle. (Despatclies from Saint Petersburg 
proved that in spite of his sympathies for France, 
the Czar would not have gone to the length of draw- 
ing the sword in her defence. The pleasure with 
which the Russian government learned that prelimi- 
naries of peace had been concluded, confirmed Na- 
poleon III. in the conviction that he had done well 
in halting midway. ^^ 

The Duke of Montebello, ambassador of France at 
Saint Petersburg, wrote to Count Walewski, July 14 : 
" The telegraphic despatches of Your Excellency, 
dated the 12th of this month, brought news that 
peace had been signed between the Emperor Napo- 
leon and the Emperor of Austria, and I hastened to 
announce it at Peterhof, where the Emperor Alex- 
ander and Prince Gortchakoff are at present. The 
satisfaction displayed by the Prince was sincere and 
complete. Above all, he expressed most warmly his 



274 FBANCE AND ITALY 

admiration for the profound sagacity of His Imperial 
Majesty's policy. As soon as it was known at Saint 
Petersburg that an armistice had been concluded, 
to expire the 15th of August, the Russian Cabinet 
began to hope that hostilities would not be renewed, 
and that a definitive arrangement would be the conse- 
quence of the suspension of arms. But it had not 
expected that the two sovereigns would bring about 
so quickly the realization of its hopes. The surprise 
has merely augmented its satisfaction. The Em- 
peror Alexander, to whom Prince Gortchakoff trans- 
mitted the news immediately, sent me word that he 
desired to see me at once, and His Majesty displayed 
with equal vivacity the sentiments by which his min- 
ister had just shown himself to be animated. . . . 
The bases agreed upon are considered by the Russian 
government well adapted to serve as the foundation 
of a lasting peace. The Emperor Alexander and 
Prince Gortchakoff recognize that in confining to 
these limits the sacrifices which the success of his 
arms might have imposed upon the Court of Vienna, 
the Emperor has shown himself as profound a politi- 
cian in negotiation as he has proved himself a great 
captain on fields of battle." 

On the other hand, Napoleon III. foreboded the 
difiiculties originated hj the war, and their future 
developments incessantly disquieted him. He was 
under no illusion as to the obscurities of the prelimi- 
naries of peace and the obstacles to be encountered 
before it could be rendered final. Questions pertain- 



SAINT-CLOUD 275 



ing to the central Italian States, especially to those 
of the Holy Father, were far from being settled, and 
the Emperor was well aware that one of the most 
arduous problems would be to establish any sort of 
harmony between the clerical and the revolutionary 
parties, the one as ardent and as ultra as the other. 
Anxieties for the future mingled therefore in the 
sovereign's mind with the gladness of present 
supcess. 

i July 19, at half-past eight in the evening, at Saint- 
Cloud, the great bodies of State entered the salon of 
Mars to congratulate the victorious monarch. M. 
Troplong, Count Morny, and M. Baroche, the first of 
whom was president of the Senate, the second of the 
Corps L^gislatif, the third of the Council of State, 
vied with each other in protestations and praiseA 

According to M. Troplong, " When Scipio had van- 
quished Hannibal at Zama, he might have destroyed 
Carthage ; he would not do it, although he had 
pledged himself to subvert the Carthaginian power. 
Prudent politician as well as skilful general, he 
knew that to ruin an enemy too completely is often 
equivalent to ruining one's self." Napoleon IH. was 
rather surprised at finding himself thus compared to 
Scipio. 

" Sire," said M. de Morny, " what prodigies in 
three months ! . . . But the finest of all the vic- 
tories is the one you have gained over yourself. In 
the intoxication of triumph you have shown yourself 
to be as generous an enemy as you are a faitliful and 



276 FBANCE AND ITALY 

disinterested ally. Surrounded by victorious and 
ardent soldiers, you thought of nothing but how to 
spare their precious blood. You have given true 
liberty to Italy by freeing it from despotism and re- 
straining it from revolutionary proceedings. In fine, 
with that marvellous moderation which characterizes 
you, you have gone as far as the honor of France re- 
quired, no farther than her interests demanded." 

" God be thanked," said M. Baroche, " for bring- 
ing you back safe and sound to this France of which 
you are the saviour and the hope, to this august wife 
whose firm courage and lofty intelligence we have 
tested during your absence, and to this noble child 
who is already learning to thank Heaven for the 
triumphs of his father." 
CJhe Emperor replied : — 

" Gentlemen, in finding myself once more amongst 
you who have surrounded the Empress and my son 
with so much devotion during my absence, I feel the 
necessity of thanking you in the first place, and then 
of explaining to you the motive of my conduct.j 

" When after a two months' fortunate campaign, 
the French and Sardinian armies found themselves 
under the walls of Verona, the struggle was about 
inevitably to change its character, both with respect 
to military matters and to politics. 

" I had no choice but to attack in front an enemy 
entrenched behind great fortresses, and protected 
against all flank movements by the neutrality of sur- 
rounding territories ; and in commencing the long 



SAINT-CLOUD 277 



and fruitless war of sieges I was confronted by 
Europe in arms, and ready either to dispute our suc- 
cess or to aggravate our reverses. 

"Yet the difficulties of the enterprise would not 
have shaken my resolution or the enthusiasm of my 
army, if the means had not been disproportionate 
with the results to be expected. 

" It was necessary to determine on breaking 
through the obstacles opposed by the neutral terri- 
tories, and then to accept war on the Rhine as well | 
as on the Adige. It was necessary, above all, to avail 
one's self frankly of the support of the revolution. 
It was necessary to shed more precious blood when 
too much had been spilled already. In a word, in 
order to succeed, it was necessary to risk what it is 
not permissible for a sovereign to put at stake for 
anything but the independence of his country. 

" If I stayed my hand, it was not, therefore, 
through lassitude or exhaustion, nor through deser- 
tion of the noble cause I had desired to serve, but 
because there was something in my heart which 
spoke more loudly still — the interest of France." 
/Thus the Emperor sought to justify rather than to 
glorify himself. His speech was a sort of public con- 
fession, a skilful plea to prove that he was right in 
laying down arms. 

On the other hand, he was fully aware that Venice 
had been cruelly disappointed at the moment when 
she thought the hour of her deliverance had come. 
He knew Italian passions too well and in youth had 



278 FRANCE AND ITALY 

shared them too profoundly not to be extremely 
afflicted at his failure to realize more than half of his 
liberating programme, _J 

v' Can you believe," continued the crowned orator, 
" that it has cost me nothing to bridle the ardor of 
soldiers excited by victory and merely asking per- 
mission to go on ? Can you believe it has cost me 
nothing to eliminate openly from my programme, in 
the face of Europe, the territory extending from the 
Mincio to the Adriatic ? Can you believe it has cost 
me nothing to behold the wreck of noble illusions 
and patriotic hopes in honest hearts ? 

" I made war against the will of Europe in order 
to aid Italian independence ; as soon as t]je destinies 
of my own country were endangered, I made peace.''y) 

The Emperor ended his speech as follows, as if 
seeking to console and reassure himself : — 

" Can it now be said that our efforts and sacrifices 
have been totally wasted ? No. As I said in tak- 
ing leave of our soldiers, we have a right to be proud 
of this brief campaign. In four combats and two 
battles, a numerous army, second to none in organi- 
zation and bravery, has been vanquished. The King 
of Piedmont, formerly styled the guardian of the 
Alps, has seen his frontiers extended from the Tes- 
sin to the Mincio. The idea of an Italian nationality 
is admitted by those who antagonize it. All the 
sovereigns of the peninsula finally comprehend the 
imperious necessity of salutary reforms. 

" Thus, after having given a new proof of the 



SAINT-CLOUD 279 



military strength of France, the peace I have just 
concluded will be fruitful in fortunate results ; the 
future will reveal them more fully day by day, for 
the welfare of Italy, the influence of France, and the 
repose of Europe." 

The diplomatic corps having signified its desire 
for an audience, it was received by the Emperor at 
Saint-Cloud, July 21. " Sire," said the Nuncio, " the 
diplomatic corps experienced the necessity of asking 
Your Majesty to receive its cordial and sincere felici- 
tations on your happy return and the prompt conclu- 
sion of peace." 

Napoleon III. replied, but, in spite of his habitual 
courtesy, without wholly concealing a certain feeling 
of bitterness. " Europe in general," he said, " was 
so unjust to me at the beginning of the war, that as 
soon as the honor and interests of France had been 
secured, I was glad to be able to conclude peace, and 
to prove that I had entertained no intention of con- 
vulsing Europe and stirring up a general war. I 
hope that now all causes of dissension will vanish, 
and the peace be of long duration. I thank the dip- 
lomatic corps for its congratulations." 

The impressions of the public had been complex, 
and at first the tidings of peace caused only moderate 
satisfaction. Countess Stephanie de Tascher de La 
Pagerie remarked this. " Such a notion," she says, 
" had been formed of this war, which had flattered 
our national pride in many ways, that people almost 
regretted so speedy a denouement. In general, these 



280 FBANCE AND ITALY 

strokes of see-saw policy wliich bewilder public opin- 
ion and bring about solutions different from what 
had been expected, are not much liked." 

\At the first moment, there had been perhaps more 
surprise than satisfaction. But a little reflection 
sufficed to put things in their proper light. It seems 
to us that M. Eugene Fourcade, the chronicler of the 
fortnight in the Revue des Deux Moncles of July 15, 
was a faithful interpreter of the prevailing senti- 
ment. " The war," said he, " has just given the 
world a proof of French power which assuredly was 
not needed, since foreigners are perhaps even more 
keenly alive to our strength than we ourselves, but 
which has been singularly agreeable to our national 
pride. Thus far, all we have tasted of war appears 
to be the sweetness of its honeymoon, the marvellous 
and swift successes obtained by our soldiers, with 
wonderful enthusiasm and contagious good humor, 
over enemies worthy of esteem. But the shortness 
of a war is its greatest charm, and thanks to the 
peace which has had for France almost the delight of 
a surprise, it is, at this moment, the one she seems 
to relish with most pleasure. However, we must be- 
ware of accepting war and peace in this way with 
epicurean carelessness. In addition to the precious 
lives sacrificed, war entails charges and responsibili- 
ties which stretch far into the future." , 

( Diplomatists and politicians already foresaw ap- 
proaching difficulties and complications. But the 
general public abandoned itself to a perfectly natu- 



SAINT-CLOUD 281 



ral joy. Business men were so quickly reassured 
that within a few days public funds went up five 
francs. The Catholics, lately so alarmed, resumed 
confidence. At that time there existed in the Re- 
publican party, and even in that of the Orleanists 
as well, very pronounced Italian sympathies. It was 
the Duke of Aumale who had obtained from Victor 
Emmanuel an authorization for the Duke of Chartres 
to serve under the Piedmontese flag at the side of 
the French army. Many men who were afterwards 
hostile to Italian unity beheld the deliverance of 
Milan with pleasure. M. de La Gorce was right in 
saying, "France, afterwards so pitiless towards Na- 
poleon III., was at this time more indulgent to him 
than he was to himself." France loves its leaders 
only so long as they are fortunate. At the conclu- 
sion of the Italian War, the Emperor had had nothing 
but successes since his accession to the throne. He 
was popular. \ 

Sunday, August 7, the victor of Magenta and Sol- 
ferino left Saint-Cloud to spend some days at the 
camp of Chalons, where he was received by General 
Schramm, commanding officer of the camp. The 
following morning, at seven o'clock, he witnessed 
the manoeuvres. In the afternoon he visited the 
agricultural establishments constructed by the en- 
gineers. Surprising the soldiers in their ordinary 
tasks or while resting, he was everywhere received 
with spontaneous ovations which deeply affected 
him. Napoleon III. loved the army and acknowl- 



282 FRANCE AND ITALY 

edged himself its debtor for his prestige and his 
throne. Never did he feel himself better understood 
and served than by his troops. When he returned 
to headquarters from the left wing of the camp that 
evening at half -past six, soldiers were seen running 
across the fields at the double-quick to reach the 
road and form in ranks in order to acclaim their 
Emperor once more. On August 11 he instituted 
the medal of Italy, intended for officers and soldiers 
who had made the Italian campaign. Surrounded 
by a laurel wreath, this medal bore on one side an 
effigy of the sovereign, with the words: Napoleon 
III., Emperor ; and on the other the titles of the six 
victories : Montebello, Palestro, Turbigo, Magenta, 
Marignau, Solferino. 



CHAPTER XXXVII 

THE EETURN OF THE TROOPS 

""VTAPOLEON III. had determined to postpone his 
triumph until his troops should return from 
Italy. He knew how much he owed them. His own 
glory was not so near his heart as that of his army. 

July 23, all the troops who had made the cam- 
paign, with the exception of five divisions of infantry 
and two brigades of cavalry which were to remain 
until peace was finally concluded, were ordered home 
from Italy. On their arrival they went into camp at 
Saint-Maurice, where they were constantly visited 
by Parisians anxious to see them under their tents, 
until Sunday, August 14, the day fixed on for their 
ceremonious entrance into the capital. It was to be 
the happiest day of the Second Empire. 

The troops were to time their departure from 
Camp Saint-Maur so that the head of the column, 
passing through the faubourg Saint- Antoine, would 
reach Bastille Place at nine in the morning. Thence 
the procession would begin to move in the following 
order : — 

The Emperor with his military household, and his 
suite ; 

283 



284 FRANCE AND ITALY 

The four Austrian flags, the first carried by a light- 
infantry man of the imperial guard and escorted by 
two soldiers from each regiment of the guard, and 
the three others by soldiers of the 1st, 3d, and 4th 
corps ; 

The forty Austrian cannons ; 

Marshal Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Ang^ly, at the 
head of the infantry of the guard, foot chasseurs, 
voltigeurs, zouaves, grenadiers, and the foot and 
mounted artillery ; 

Marshal Baraguey d'Hilliers and the 1st corps ; 

Marshal MacMahon, Duke of Magenta, and the 
2d; 

Marshal Canrobert and the 3d ; 

Marshal Niel and the 4th. 

The cavalry of the guard were to close the 
procession. 

The Emperor advances at the head of his army. 
A truce to party spirit ! There are none but French- 
men now, joyful, enthusiastic, frenzied in the applause 
they give to other Frenchmen who are conquerors. 
Even those who yesterday were blaming the war of 
Italy, think of nothing to-day but the delight of 
victory. The crowd is transported, electrified. A 
cloud of flowers falls from windows and balconies ; 
the streets are strewn with wreaths. The triumphal 
procession advances under a rain of roses, over a 
carpet of foliage. Bouquets are stuck on the points 
of bayonets ; the horses are loaded with garlands. 



THE RETURN OF THE TROOPS 285 

There are persons who force their way through the 
standing lines, glide up to the soldiers and offer them 
cigars, tobacco, glasses of beer and wine. 

In order to afford the wounded who are marching 
a little rest, the Emperor orders a halt of a few 
minutes near rue Peletier, after which the cortege 
goes on again. They pass beneath the windows of 
the Jockey Club, then occupying a house on the 
boulevard des Italiens, at the corner of rue Gramont. 
The Marquis de Massa says : " The military element 
was already numerous in it, some forty of its members 
having made this short but decisive campaign. Every 
time one of these passed under the club balcony at 
the head of his command, he was welcomed with 
hearty cheers. Among its dead, the club reckoned 
Colonel Paulze d'lvoy, of the 1st zouaves, killed glo- 
riously at Marignan; among the severely wounded, 
Staff-Captain de Champlouis, Count Alfred de 
Gramont, commander of an infantry battalion, and 
Francois de La Rochefoucauld, Duke de Liancourt, 
appointed two years afterwards lieutenant-colonel 
of the Empress's dragoons. The majority of the 
members of the Jockey Club were legitimists rather 
than imperialists, but they were too patriotic not 
to rejoice over the success of our armies." 

In front of the ministry of Justice, opposite the 
VendSme column, had been erected a tribune sup- 
ported by an architectural projection in the Tuscan 
style, which was intended for the Empress. At 
a quarter of ten, four gala carriages, preceded by 



286 FRANCE AND ITALY 

outriders in the imperial livery, enter the square. 
They contain the sovereign, the young Prince, and 
their suite. Radiant with beauty, the Empress wears 
a white robe and a black mantle with blue embroid- 
eries, caught up by a spray of diamonds. The little 
Prince is in the uniform of the grenadiers of the 
guard, with a blue and red police helmet. Greeted 
with universal applause, the mother and child leave 
the carriage and take their places in the tribune. 

All eyes turn towards rue de la Paix, where the 
Emperor and his army are to debouch. Presently 
the hundred-guards, with drums and trumpets, make 
their appearance between columns surmounted with 
golden victories. They precede by a few paces 
the sovereign, who comes forward on a magnificent 
chestnut horse. He wears the uniform of a general 
of division with the white-plumed chapeau and 
broad ribbon of the Legion of Honor. All the 
spectators are on their feet. An immense cry of: 
" Long live the Emperor ! " resounds. They are 
saluting the commander-in-chief as well as the 
sovereign. 

Napoleon III. halts, still on horseback, under the 
balcony where the Empress is. The troops are 
going to march past him. As soon as the Prince 
Imperial sees them, he rises, draws his little sword 
out of its scabbard, and brandishing it, salutes them. 
The infantile gesture is received with a long round 
of applause. 

Here come the four Austrian standards, borne by 



THE RETURN OF THE TROOPS 287 

the soldiers who took them. The crowd respects 
these noble trophies, defended and seized so bravely. 
It remembers what was said by Napoleon I., after the 
battle of Austerlitz: "Honor to unfortunate cour- 
age ! " And here, the forty Austrian cannons with 
their teams. Next, after a platoon of sunburnt 
guides, and preceded by three chaplains, come those 
of the wounded who have been able to march from 
Bastille Place. They stretch their legs, trying to 
keep step. Their mutilate(^ hands can scarcely hold 
the wreaths and bouquets which the crowd flings at 
their heads. One pale young ofiBcer has both arms 
in a sling. These wounded, how pleased the people 
are to see them marching like this in spite of their 
sufferings ! How they admire, how they love them ! 
How they would like to ease their pains ! When 
they are passing a long murmur of compassion and 
tenderness can be heard ! For their part, they seem 
amazed by the ovation they receive. Heroes think 
nothing more simple and natural than heroism. 

Here comes the commander-in-chief of the imperial 
guard, Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angely, who owes 
his marshal's baton to the battle of Magenta; here 
are the two divisions of the infantry of the guard : 
Mellinet, whose grenadiers and zouaves, to the num- 
ber of four thousand, resisted for more than three 
hours forty thousand Austrians on the banks of the 
Naviglio Grande ; Camou, whose voltigeurs and foot 
chasseurs carried the tower of Solferino and the sur- 
rounding heights. How beautiful they are, these 



288 FRANCE AND ITALY 

choice troops, and how proud the Emperor must be 
of his guard! Each of the regiments composing it 
returns its flag to him as it goes by, the bands play- 
ing meanwhile at the foot of the column. 

Now comes Baraguey d'Hilliers, marshal since the 
taking of Bomarsund, who is marching at the head 
of the 1st corps. Then the 2d corps, with its com- 
mander-in-chief, MacMahon, whom victory has made 
marshal of France, and Duke of Magenta ; among his 
troops, look at the Algerian tirailleurs, the Turcos, 
marching behind the chaplains, three Catholic priests, 
respected by them in spite of the difference of reli- 
gion; here they come in sky-blue uniforms braided 
with yellow, their types including all the races of 
northern Africa, from the negro to the Arab ; on their 
guidons you may see the crescent of Islam and the 
open hand, that preservative against the evil eye still 
scuptured on the keystone of the arch of the first 
door of the Alhambra. 

Here comes Marshal Canrobert, marshal since the 
Crimean War, with the 3d corps. And here the 4th 
corps, commanded by Niel, who gained his marshal's 
baton at Solferino, where his regiments, without ex- 
ception, fought in a heroic manner throughout the 
day. 

The march by is about to close. The Prince Im- 
perial, who had incessantly clapped his hands, is taken 
down from the tribune by his equerry, M. Bachon, 
and carried to Napoleon III., who embraces his son 
and sets him for a few minutes in front of him on the 



THE RETURN OF THE TROOPS 289 

saddle, to repeated cries of: "Long live the Em- 
peror ! Long live the Empress ! Long live the 
Prince Imperial ! " 

In the evening, the Emperor gives a dinner at the 
Louvre in honor of the army of Italy, and afterwards 
makes a speech. His very strong and sonorous voice 
resounds through the vaulted Hall of States, and not 
a syllable of his harangue is lost. " Gentlemen," he 
says, " the joy I feel in meeting again the majority of 
the leaders of the army of Italy would be complete 
if it were not mingled with regret because the ele- 
ments of so well-organized and redoubtable a force 
are to separate so soon. As sovereign and as com- 
mander-in-chief, I once more thank you for your con- 
fidence. It was flattering for me, who had never 
commanded an army, to find such obedience on the 
part of those who had had such large experience of 
war. If success has crowned our efforts, it pleases 
me to attribute the greater part of it to the skilful 
and devoted generals who rendered command easy for 
me, because, animated by the sacred fire, they always 
set the example of duty and of contempt for death." 

To these simple and modest words, Napoleon III. 
added : " Part of our soldiers are about returning to 
their homes ; you yourselves will resume the occupa- 
tions of peace. But let us not forget what we have 
done together. May the recollection of obstacles 
surmounted, of perils averted, of imperfections 
pointed out, recur often to your memory; for, to 
every military man, memory is science itself. 



290 FRANCE AND ITALY 

"In commemoration of the Italian campaign, I am 
going to distribute a medal to all who have taken 
part in it, and I wish you to be to-day the first to 
wear it. May it remind you of me sometimes, and 
in reading the glorious names inscribed upon it, may 
each say, ' If France has done so much for a friendly 
people, what will she not do for her independence ? ' " 

The following day, August 15, was the Emperor's 
fete, and it was celebrated with unparalleled splendor. 
In addition to the usual religious ceremonies in the 
churches, there were free spectacles at all the thea- 
tres, fireworks, and illuminations on a grand scale. 
Nor were the rejoicings confined to Paris. The 
Italians still required the assistance of the victor of 
Solferino, and Milan and Turin united in the cele- 
bration of his f^te. The advocates of Italian unity 
were bent on making use of him, with his will or 
against it, in the realization of their programme, and 
they were not slow to recognize that in France lay 
their only safeguard against an offensive return from 
Austria. Lombards and Piedmontese were as zeal- 
ous on August 15 as if they had been the subjects 
of Napoleon III. One might have fancied himself 
back in the days when his uncle was at once Em- 
peror of the French and King of Italy. 

On reaching the summit of his fortune. Napoleon 
III. sought to efface all remaining traces of the civil 
wars. He remembered the unlucky citizens who 
were victims of the insurrections of 1848, 1849, and 
the coup cfEtat of 1851. Eighteen hundred of these 



THE RETUBN OF TEE TROOPS 291 I 

were still undergoing such penalties as police surveil- i 

lance, exile or confinement, in the prisons of Algeria 
and Guiana. The Emperor resolved to restore to 
liberty and their country even those who were un- i 

willing to ask pardon, and who had irrevocably || 

determined to abate neither their passions nor their 
grudges. August 16 he signed a decree worded as 
follows : " Full and complete amnesty is granted to 
all individuals who have been condemned for politi- 
cal crimes and misdemeanors, or who have been the 
object of measures of public security." To judge 
only by the surface, one might have fancied that all 
parties in France were reconciled. Unhappily, while 
the exiled Republicans were coming back from Bel- 
gium, Switzerland, and England, the doors of the 
fatherland still remained closed against the princes 
and princesses of both branches of the Bourbon fam- 
ily. There were proscripts still. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 

TUSCANY 

n^HE war was gloriously ended, but the era of 
political difficulties was only just begun, and 
the situation of Italy was still in utter confusion and 
obscurity. Were the arrangements of Villafrauca to 
be put into execution, or were they a dead letter? 
Would there be an Italian Confederation ? Were the 
sovereigns of central Italy to be restored to their 
thrones ? Would the Pope preserve the integrity of 
his States? Were the partisans of Italian unity to 
be forced to renounce their plans, or would they 
be found continuing successfully their propaganda ? 
Would a congress assemble, or would European diplo- 
macy be left to say the last word ? Such were the 
questions which presented themselves and which were 
to cause Napoleon III. the most serious preoccupations. 
The Emperor has been accused of duplicity with 
regard to Italian affairs. Still, he may have been 
sincere in expressing his desire to keep the promises 
he had made to Francis Joseph. But it was under- 
stood that the people were not to be forced, and that 
their right to dispose of their destiny should be re- 
spected. The dogma of national sovereignty was the 
basis of the doctrines of Napoleon III., and he was 

292 



TUSCANY 293 



resolutely determined to defend it against all comers. 
This reservation made, he was bound to put no hin- 
drance in the way of the restoration of the dispos- 
sessed princes. Italian unity did not enter into his 
views, and he particularly desired the maintenance 
of Tuscan autonomy. 

Victor Emmanuel, pretending at first to wish for 
the scrupulous performance of the stipulations of 
Villafranca, recalled the four Piedmontese commis- 
sioners, Buoncampagni, Pallieri, Farini, and d'Aze- 
glio, from Florence, Parma, Modena, and Bologna. 
At Florence, the partisans of Piedmont were at first 
very much alarmed. A grand-ducal restoration 
seemed impending. There was some disturbance at 
the Palazzo Vecchio and under the porticos. Gen- 
eral de La Marmora having sent from the Piedmon- 
tese camp a hint to Baron Ricasoli that silence and 
resignation were in order, the latter exclaimed, ad- 
dressing the bearer of the message : " Tell La Mar- 
mora that I tore his letter to pieces." But the 
partisans of Victor Emmanuel soon regained cour- 
age. It having been rumored that Napoleon III. 
had said: "The treaty sanctions the restoration of 
the princes, but not by force," all friends of Pied- 
mont felt reassured. As to the adherents of the 
dynasty of Lorraine, they had induced the Grand 
Duke Leopold to abdicate, July 21, in favor of his 
son. Prince Ferdinand, who had been the guest of 
Napoleon III. at Compi^gne, and they hoped he 
would ascend the Tuscan throne. 



294 FRANCE AND ITALY 

This combination was cordially supported by the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Paris. The husband 
of a Florentine, and formerly minister of France at 
Florence, Count Walewski was keenly interested in 
the dynasty of Lorraine and in Tuscan autonomy. 
July 23, he sent the following telegraphic despatch 
to the Marquis de Ferri^re-le-Vayer, minister of 
France at Florence : " The Grand Duke has just 
abdicated in his son's favor. We all hope that the 
latter will give a constitution, and perhaps that he 
will even take the Italian flag. The Emperor thinks 
the Tuscans, in their own interest, should make 
haste to assume the initiative in recalling the heredi- 
tary Grand Duke themselves. Annexation to Pied- 
mont is an impossibility ; I have reason to believe 
that the Sardinian government will not delay in 
making this understood in Florence. Do your ut- 
most to promote explicitly the intentions of the 
Emperor." 

The Marquis de Ferriere-le-Vayer desired the 
maintenance of the Lorraine dynasty as keenly as 
Count Walewski, but he was under no illusion. He 
replied by telegraph, July 24 : "I have tried the 
ground. Impossible to obtain from Tuscany the 
recall of the young Grand Duke. The revolutionary 
spring is too tense, and the national -sentiment too 
much offended. A restoration would be impossible 
without the presence of French troops, but what a 
complication ! The hereditary Grand Duke would 
have had some chance if Prince Napoleon had not 



TUSCANY 295 



stopped in Florence, if Tuscany had not been aban- 
doned two months ago under intimidation from the 
clubs and the pressure of an annexationist govern- 
ment, and if the princes had not been in the enemy's 
camp ; they have no more use for the son than for 
the father ; they would admit anything rather than 
the dynasty." 

Tuscan autonomy, if not the dynasty of Lorraine, 
had numerous partisans still, but they were intimi- 
dated by a Florentine, Baron Ricasoli, who was 
more Piedmontese than the Piedmontese themselves. 
Bearing an illustrious name, and possessing a consid- 
erable fortune, this democratic noble, a fanatical ad- 
vocate of Italian unity, was ready to sacrifice all to 
the triumph of his ideas, and to solicit the aid of the 
boldest and most advanced revolutionists for their 
realization. With his rigid countenance, his sharp 
features, his austere and ardent eloquence, he had 
the physiognomy and the temperament of a dissenter. 
He was one of those men whom nothing frightens or 
discourages, and who, in spite of every obstacle, pur- 
sue their object with indomitable energy and tena- 
city. After the departure of M. Buoncompagni, he 
proclaimed himself president of the Council of min- 
isters on his own authority, and got into working 
order a government whose only programme was the 
annexation of Tuscany to Piedmont. The Marquis 
de Ferri^re-le-Vayer well knew that such a man 
would yield to nothing but force. 

The young Grand Duke had hastened to make a 



296 FRANCE AND ITALY 

proclamation to the Tuscans in which he declared 
that he would adopt the Italian colors, grant a con- 
stitution, and recognize the rights of the nation. 
Baron Ricasoli replied by calling the people to arms 
against the vanquished man of Solferino, as he styled 
the young Prince. 

The Marquis de Ferri^re-le-Vayer wrote to Count 
Walewski, July 26 : "To give you an idea of public 
opinion, I will say that the Marquis Ginori has read 
me two letters, one from Prince Strozzo, and the 
other from Count Ugolino della Gherardesca, both 
of whom, notwithstanding they have always pro- 
fessed the most monarchical sentiments, now declare 
that no one should try to bring back the dynasty of 
Lorraine." This dynasty, therefore, could no longer 
count on the great families which had so long sup- 
ported it. The French minister added: "If the 
means employed are condemnable, the result has 
none the less been what was desired, the tension of 
the revolutionary spring and the increase of the an- 
nexation party, to which the conduct of the arch- 
dukes, their presence in the Austrian army, and the 
uncontradicted report of their participation in the 
battle of Solferino, have added all those who natu- 
rally dislike to witness the return to Florence of 
princes who have been fighting in the camp of the 
enemies of Italy. If there had only been a French 
battalion at Florence, which was what I expressed a 
wish for, nothing of this kind would have occurred. 
Of course the unionists, and the impression produced 



TTISGANY 297 



by the regrettable attitude of the archdukes, would 
still have to be reckoned with ; but there would not 
have been this general rout of the timid and the un- 
certain, produced by the peculiar moral state of a 
society, probably the most impressionable and peace- 
ful in the world, abandoned without defence to a 
party which has the revolution for its auxiliary." 

The revolution ! Every day it was making a 
wholly unimpeded progress. In another despatch, 
dated August 10, the Marquis de Ferridre-le-Vayer 
thus expressed himself: "The partisans of the 
dynasty serve it very little since its fall, after serv- 
ing it very badly before. They speak of nothing 
but their alarms, when they might talk about their 
plans, and come to see me only to ask for passports 
which I pitilessly refuse. When they tell me they 
are threatened with imprisonment and being killed, 
I tell them that a party which keeps quiet under 
menaces of that sort scarcely deserves attention, and 
that if some of them should allow themselves to 
be put to death for their princes it would make their 
cause more interesting, but they prefer to fold their 
arms and rely on Austria or France, groaning 
meanwhile in the privacy of their villas or in the 
letters they write me, and getting more frightened 
by words and articles than people anywhere else 
would be by the bayonets of soldiers or the execu- 
tioner's axe. Singular country, where thrones are 
upset with ribbons and music, and where a reign 
of terror is no longer inaugurated by the guillotine 



298 FRANCE AND ITALY 

but by a newspaper article and three words : Morte 
ai codini ! charcoaled on a wall ! Singular country, 
but very soft and very tame to resist the contact 
of Sardinia without foreign aid ! And yet I think 
that from the French, the Italian, and the Catholic 
point of view, reasons of state demand, — especially 
if we do not have Savoy, — that we should not 
allow Piedmont to seize Tuscany and arrive at the 
Pontifical and Neapolitan frontiers, emboldened to 
dare anything by the success of its policy." 

Count Walewski fancied that persuasion, friendly 
advice, and semi-ofScial missions might exert some 
influence. Count Walewski was under a delusion. 
At intervals of several days he sent two emissaries 
to Florence, Count de Reiset and Prince Joseph 
Poniatowski, whose mission it was, as the minister 
said, to assist in bringing public opinion back to 
views more in conformity with those of the govern- 
ment of the Emperor. 

As men of the world, the two messengers were 
received most courteously in Florence, but, as their 
mission was merely semi-official, no one affected to 
attach the slightest diplomatic importance to it. 
With a politeness slightly sarcastic, they were in- 
vited to travel through the country, question the 
inhabitants, test public opinion, and thus enable 
themselves to estimate the sympathies which the 
princes of the house of Lorraine had left behind 
them. 

I knew Prince Joseph Poniatowski. He was 



TUSCANY 299 



one of the most amiable and attractive men that 
I have ever met. An accomplished gentleman, by- 
turns soldier, diplomat, singer, and composer of 
music, he had everywhere and always achieved suc- 
cess. He was the nephew of the celebrated Prince 
Poniatowski, the hero of the imperial epic, the 
Polish Bayard who was made marshal of France 
on the Leipsic battlefield, and was drowned three 
days afterwards in the river Elster. Like his uncle*. 
Prince Joseph Poniatowski had served under the 
banners of France. After distinguishing himself 
in several Algerian campaigns, he entered Tuscan 
diplomacy and had been the Grand Duke Leopold's 
minister at Paris. Then naturalized a Frenchman, 
he had been made a senator by Napoleon III. at the 
close of 1854. When, in August, 1859, he arrived 
at Florence, where he had none but friends, the 
society man was greeted with great cordiality, but 
no account was made of the diplomat. And yet to 
strengthen this mission and increase its chances of 
success. Count Walewski had written, August 10, 
to the Marquis de Ferridre-le-Vayer : " The Emperor 
authorizes you to deliver a copy of a despatch advis- 
ing the recall of the hereditary Grand Duke, who 
will give, on his part, all desirable guarantees." 

The next day, August 11, the Tuscan Assembly, 
convoked by the government of Baron Ricasoli, met 
at Florence. Out of a population of one million 
eight hundred thousand souls, Tuscany had sixty- 
seven thousand electors, forty-five thousand of 



300 FBANCE AND ITALY 

whom had voted. Their choice fell upon the most 
notable men in the country, without distinction of 
origin, providing only that they should have signi- 
fied their intention to reject the Lorraine dynasty. 
On August 16, its downfall was pronounced by all 
the members present. Four days later, by a vote 
which lacked only three of being unanimous, the 
Assembly decreed the annexation of Tuscany to 
Piedmont. 

But all was not yet done. It remained to be 
known whether Victor Emmanuel would accept 
this vote, and especially whether Napoleon III. and 
the great powers would permit its realization. 

Prince de La Tour d'Auvergne, minister of France 
at Turin, wrote to Count Walewski, August 30 : " The 
unanimous vote of the Tuscan Assembly in favor 
of annexation to Piedmont, an example which will 
inevitably be followed by the duchies of Parma and 
Modena, and the Legations, singularly complicates 
the situation and greatly embarrasses the government 
of King Victor Emmanuel. His Majesty's first 
impulse was flatly to refuse compliance with the 
vote of the Tuscan Assembly, but this way of con- 
sidering the question was speedily modified by 
earnest solicitations, to which ambition and self- 
love naturally added further weight." 

The Tuscan delegates arrived at Turin, September 
3. The municipal body and a large number of sena- 
tors and deputies went to the station to receive them. 
The four legions of the national guard formed the 



TUSCANY 301 



line through which they passed. All the streets 
were draped with the national colors. The delegates 
went to the royal palace and formally presented Vic- 
tor Emmanuel with the minutes of the deliberations 
of the Assembly. In his reply, the King vaunted the 
necessity of a strong realm which would assure na- 
tional independence, and openly expressed his desire 
to group all the populations of Tuscany under his 
sceptre. But, having many things to consider, he 
prudently added: "The realization of my wishes 
cannot be effected except by means of the nego- 
tiations which are to take place concerning the 
affairs of Italy. Strong in the rights conferred on 
me by your resolution, I shall support your cause 
with the powers, and above all with the magnani- 
mous Emperor of the French, who has done so much 
for the Italian nation. I hope Europe will not refuse 
to accomplish that reparatory work for Tuscany, 
which, under less favorable circumstances, she ac- 
complished not long ago for Greece, Belgium, and 
the Principalities." 

Two days later, September 5, Prince de La Tour 
d'Auvergne wrote to Count Walewski : " The form 
and signification of the King's reply, modified as 
much as possible in the sense of our observations by 
the Minister of Foreign Affairs, General Dabormida, 
have in general obtained the approval of moderate 
people and those of such of my diplomatic colleagues 
as I have been able to exchange opinions with ; but 
the liberal press can hardly conceal its disappoint- 



302 FBANCE AND ITALY 

ment, and I am assured that even the Tuscan dele- 
gation, in spite of the many marks of sympathy it 
has received, is far from being satisfied." 

In a word, all was still in suspense. Everybody 
was wondering what would be decided on by the 
Congress, the assembling of which was then con- 
sidered near and inevitable. Napoleon III. had not 
spoken his last word. All eyes turned towards him. 
It was perfectly well recognized that he was in real- 
ity master of the situation. 



CHAPTER XXXIX 

PAEMA 

rriHERE was one throne in Italy, that of the 
Duke of Parma, which Napoleon III. and 
the Empress Eugenie would have greatly liked 
to see respected. Born July 9, 1848, the Duke was 
not quite eleven years old when the war of Italy 
broke out. His mother, Louise of France, grand- 
daughter of Charles X., daughter of the Duke and 
Duchess of Berry, widow of Duke Charles III., had 
governed as regent since March 27, 1854, on which 
day that Prince had been assassinated. 

In our volume entitled : Last Years of the Duchess 
of Berry ^ we have spoken at length of this amiable 
and attractive Princess who had remained so French 
in mind and heart. She was born September 21, 1819, 
a year before her brother, the Count of Chambord. 
Old residents of Paris remembered seeing her as a 
child, when she was called Mademoiselle and attracted 
all eyes by her prettiness. Napoleon III., who like- 
wise felt himself threatened by assassins, had been 
impressed by the fate of Charles III., and took real 
interest in a princess who had had a grandfather 
dethroned, a brother deprived of his heritage, a 

303 



304 FRANCE AND ITALY 

father and a husband assassinated. The Empress 
Eugenie, possibly foreboding that she might have 
to exercise the regency under painful circumstances, 
felt the sympathy of a woman and a sovereign for 
the Duchess. She admired her virtues, her intelli- 
gence, and her courage. The ministers of France in 
Tuscany were likewise accredited to Parma, and 
none of them had anything but praise for the regent, 
whose government, as was said by Lord Clarendon, 
"was a mild, moderate power, characterized by in- 
dulgence and good sense." The Empress Eugenie 
interested herself in the Princess, at first through 
generosity of feeling, and then because she compre- 
hended what the gratitude of the French legitimists 
would be if the Emperor should lend his support to 
the sister of the Count of Chambord. 

Moreover, the policy of the Duchess of Parma 
was in conformity with the views of Napoleon III. 
What she desired in Italy was the establishment of 
a Confederation independent of all foreign influence. 
Since she had been regent she had sought every 
occasion of being agreeable to France and its sover- 
eign. She had been complained of more than once 
at Vienna for being too liberal, too French, and too 
Italian. 

June 9, 1859, when the Duchess quitted Parma, 
never to see it again, her departure was full of dig- 
nity, as all her regency had been. After bidding her 
people and her soldiers a noble and affecting fare- 
well, she quietly left her palace in a carriage, as if 



PABMA 305 

she were going on an ordinary excursion, and de- 
parted, saluted and respected by all. 

A few days later, — June 23, — a secretary of the 
French legation, Count de Mosbourg, who had just 
been through central Italy to get an idea of the 
situation, wrote to Count Walewski : "Arriving June 
17, at Milan, I left there on the 20th , for Plaisance 
and Parma. The population had a sincere liking for 
the Duchess. I was easily convinced of this by the 
manner in which they speak of her in this country 
which has not driven her away, but which she has 
quitted, terminating her government by acts whose 
wisdom and moderation are praised by everybody. 
The Duchess of Parma went away leaving a million 
and a half in the State treasury, and without taking 
with her a single one of the objects, even the most 
personal, which filled the elegant palace in which 
she lived. She departed, leaving numerous and keen 
regrets, and surrounded as she went by marks of 
affection and esteem. Chance has permitted me to 
collect some interesting details of her journey. She 
stopped at Verona, where the Emperor of Austria 
called upon and spent several minutes alone with 
her. Immediately after this visit she wished to go 
on, and as no train was near, she declared to her 
suite that she would not spend the night in Verona, 
and took a special train to continue her route. This 
detail I have from a Spanish diplomat who was 
my colleague at Vienna, and who accompanied the 
Duchess as far as Switzerland." 



306 FRANCE AND ITALY 

In the same report, Count de Mosbourg remarked 
that, unlike the Duchess of Parma, the Duke of 
Modena had taken all he could possibly carry ; leav- 
ing nothing behind but the four walls of his palace, 
and bringing fifty political prisoners in his suite to 
Mantua. 

The attitude of the Duke of Modena and that of 
the Duchess of Parma were completely different. 
The Duke established himself on Austrian terri- 
tory ; the Duchess took refuge in Switzerland. The 
Duke sought to draw more close the already binding 
ties which united his duchy to Austria ; the Duchess 
would have liked that of her son to be entirely inde- 
pendent. This was why the Emperor Francis Joseph, 
who took such pains to plead the cause of his rela- 
tives, the Grand-Duke of Tuscany and the Duke of 
Modena, did not concern himself with Parma, and 
passed over in silence the young sovereign of that 
duchy. 

The Duchess Regent might have hoped to find 
Victor Emmanuel favorably disposed towards her. 
Brought up with the King, Duke Charles III., 
her husband, had spent his youth at Turin and 
served in the Piedmontese army. She herself was 
closely connected with the King's wife, Queen Ade- 
laide, Archduchess of Austria, who died in January, 
1855. But the Duchess of Parma was soon to recog- 
nize that politics has no pity on the widow and the 
orphan. 

Meanwhile, the unhappy mother relied on France, 



_i 



PARMA 307 

and perhaps more still on Russia. The Duke of 
Montebello, ambassador of Napoleon III. at Saint 
Petersburg, had written to Count Walewski, July 29 : 
" The fate of the duchy of Parma, not mentioned in the 
preliminaries of Villafranca, greatly preoccupies the 
cabinet of Saint Petersburg. The Duchess of Parma 
has written to the Emperor of Russia recommending 
to him the cause of her son. Prince Gortchakoff has 
no doubt that the sovereignty of the young Prince 
will be maintained. He has told me that he knows 
the Emperor to be most favorably disposed towards 
him. He thinks, also, that Europe could not recog- 
nize the right of the belligerent powers to dispose 
of an Italian sovereignty." 

Meanwhile the Piedmontese government had de- 
cided to consider the sympathies which Napoleon III. 
and Alexander II. might express in favor of the 
young Duke of Parma as null and void. As early 
as June 16 it had appointed M. Pallieri governor of 
the duchy in the name of King Victor Emmanuel, and 
M. Pallieri did at Parma what Baron Ricasoli and 
M. Farini were doing in Florence and Modena. As the 
preliminaries of Villafranca made no mention of the 
Parmesan duchy, it seemed to be believed at Turin 
that this silence signified annexation. Count Cavour 
telegraphed to M. Pallieri July 13 : " Parma must 
remain annexed to Sardinia. Have the oath to the 
king taken, and act with the greatest energy." But 
Cavour having resigned, the Piedmontese govern- 
ment, not yet daring to throw off the mask, was 



308 FRANCE AND ITALY 

obliged to take down the escutcheon of Savoy from 
the public buildings of Parma and recall M. Pallieri 
to Turin. Before departing, under pretext of main- 
taining order, the latter left a substitute in the 
duchy, M. Manfredi, whose only care was to prepare 
it for annexation to Sardinia. The sole remaining 
hope of the Duchess of Parma lay in the Congress. 



CHAPTER XL 

MODENA 

"TF Napoleon III. had sympathies for the young 
Duke of Parma, and especially for his mother, 
he had none at all for Francis V., Duke of Modena. 

Of all European dynasties the most reactionary, 
most intransigent, most opposed to the Napoleonic 
ideas, liberalism, and parliamentary institutions was 
the dynasty of Modena. It held the Italian and 
the French tricolor in equal abhorrence. When 
Francis IV., father of Francis V., ascended the ducal 
throne in July, 1814, his first care was to abolish 
the Code Napoleon in his duchy. The Parisian 
revolution of 1830 had inspired him with boundless 
wrath and indignation. While the Courts of Turin, 
Florence, and Naples felt obliged to use circumspec- 
tion in their dealings with Louis Philippe, the Duke 
of Modena gloried in defying him, and was the sole 
European sovereign who refused to recognize the 
King of the French, whom he persisted in consider- 
ing a mere usurper. He had offered the Duchess of 
Berry an asylum in his ducal chateau of Massa, where, 
surrounded by a little court of the most ardent and 
fanatical legitimists, she openly prepared the Vendean 
rising of 1832. 

309 



310 FRANCE AND ITALY 

Francis V., who ascended the throne in January, 
1846, had followed the paternal footsteps in every 
point. His sister was married to the Count of 
Chambord ; but the Duke was infinitely more ab- 
solutist than his brother-in-law, the head of the 
elder branch of the Bourbons. While all the Courts 
of Europe were lavish of advances to Napoleon III., 
he maintained the most frigid and reserved attitude 
toward the Emperor of the French. He went so far 
as to refuse to those of his subjects who had served 
under Napoleon I. the authorization to wear the 
Saint Helena medal. 

Francis V. felt in honor bound to act under all 
circumstances as a good archduke, a lieutenant de- 
voted to the head of his family, the Emperor of 
Austria, a general of the imperial and royal family. 
As soon as the war of Italy broke out, he made haste 
to have Modena and Reggio occupied by the Aus- 
trians, shutting himself up meanwhile, with a small 
army on which he thought he might rely, in his 
fortress of Brescella, whither he had carried, and 
whence he afterwards transported to Venetia, sixty 
thousand livres of treasure, the crown jewels, the 
medals from the museums, and the precious manu- 
scripts from the libraries. When the news of the 
battle of Magenta came he no longer considered him- 
self safe in his fortress, and took refuge on Austrian 
territory, M. Farini arriving meanwhile at Modena in 
the capacity of Piedmontese commissioner. 

M. Farini was a pupil of Cavour ; but, coming of 



MOBENA 311 



an obscure stock, necessitous even to poverty, an 
ardent and fanatical sectary, he was further advanced 
in demagogy than his master. There were few revo- 
lutionists in Europe as fiery and impetuous as this 
conspirator, to whom politics was both a passion and 
a means of livelihood. The news of the preliminaries 
of Villafranca threw him literally into a fury. " Do 
not leave me without instructions," he wrote by tele- 
graph to Count Cavour. " Know that if, in conse- 
quence of some agreement unknown to me, the Duke 
makes any attempt, I will treat him as an enemy 
of the King and the country." When this telegram 
reached him Cavour had already resigned. He re- 
plied in a single sentence : " The minister is dead ; 
the friend applauds your decision." Shortly after- 
wards M. Farini received his order of recall from the 
government of Turin. He paid no attention to it, 
and after taking off his uniform as a Piedmontese 
commissioner, he went up to the balcony of the Este 
palace and proclaimed himself dictator before the 
assembled crowd. 

The Austrians, however, could not easily antici- 
pate that Napoleon would support in good earnest 
the cause of a prince whose antecedents and princi- 
ples were those of the Duke of Modena. To ask 
that prince to enter into an Italian confederation 
founded on liberal and parliamentary principles was 
to ask an impossibility. Posing as a victim of Sol- 
ferino, he had decided never to come to terms with 
the conquerors. 



312 FRANCE AND ITALY 

On the other hand, if Napoleon III. had retained 
no disagreeable memories of Tuscany, where his 
father and his eldest brother, exiled from France, 
had received generous hospitality, and where the 
grand-ducal family had treated them with kindness, 
it was also true that the duchy of Modena awakened 
none but unpleasant impressions in his mind. He 
had not forgotten the apprehensions, the anguish he 
had endured in passing through the territory with 
his mother, by means of forged passports, when he 
was escaping after his lamentable participation in the 
insurrection of the Romagnas in 1831. Francis IV. 
had just delivered several Italian patriots to the 
executioners, and Louis Napoleon, their accomplice, 
had every reason to fear that if he were recognized 
and arrested he would share their fate. 

French sympathies seeming so alienated from 
Francis V., those of the Emperor of Austria should 
have been inclined to lay greater stress on the rights 
of a relative who in time of trial had shown him such 
confidence, devotion, and fidelity. It is even surpris- 
ing that Francis Joseph was not more persistent in 
supporting a sovereign in whom he found rather a 
subject than an ally. 

If the Emperor had been as hardy a conservative 
as M. Farini was a revolutionist, he would have as- 
sisted the Duke of Modena to equip several trusty 
foreign regiments by whose means he might have 
regained his duchy. M. Farini acted rashly in brav- 
ing this Prince, for Francis V. kept close to the 



MOBENA 313 



frontier, anxiously awaiting an opportunity to re- 
enter his dominions, and relying on the assistance 
of Austria ; but Austria lent him no assistance. 

Possibly the Emperor Francis Joseph believed that 
the French troops left in Lombardy would oppose all 
attempts at restoration. Still, it was not certain that 
Napoleon III., once more very peacefully inclined, 
would incur the risk of renewing war in order to 
maintain the dictatorship of M. Farini. The latter, 
finding that he could tranquilly continue his work, 
convoked an assembly at Modena, which decreed the 
downfall of the Duke and annexation to Sardinia by 
a unanimous vote on the 16th of August. 

Napoleon III. did not in the least desire the resto- 
ration of Francis V., but he recommended the pres- 
ervation of Modenese autonomy. There was even 
question for a moment of annexing the dominions 
of the Duke of Parma to Sardinia, and giving tlie 
duchy of Modena to the young sovereign by way of 
compensation. Such an arrangement had very little 
chance of success. Austria might think, in fact, 
that nothing could be more contrary to its legitimist 
principles than such a substitution. In accepting it 
for her son would not the Duchess Regent have made 
herself jointly responsible for the Piedmontese usur- 
pations and placed revolutionary right above divine 
right. Although the Duchess of Parma was the 
sister of the Count of Chambord, she could not for- 
get that this Prince was the brother-in-law of the 
Duke of Modena. Moreover, she remembered all 



314 FRANCE AND ITALY 

the services rendered to her mother, the Duchess of 
Berry, by the father of the Duke, Francis IV. The 
combination could not succeed ; it was soon aban- 
doned, and M. Farini, more audacious than before, 
encountered no further obstacles on his path. 



XLI 

THE ROMAGNAS 

^nHE name of Romagnas is given to those terri- 
tories in the States of the Church comprising 
the six Legations : Velletri, Urbino-and-Pesaro, Forli, 
Bologna, Ravenna, Ferrara. At the time when war 
broke out, Rome was occupied by a French corps, 
and the Austrians were garrisoned in the Romagnas. 
The States of the Church were a neutral ground 
where the Austrian, French, and Piedmontese armies 
were not to enter into contest. Throughout the 
duration of the war, no manifestation or trouble of 
any kind occurred in the Eternal City. Order was 
maintained under the shadow of the flag of France, 
and Pius IX. had absolutely nothing to fear. The 
Romagnas would also have remained tranquil had 
the Austrians continued to occupy them, as was 
their undoubted right. 

Napoleon III. has often been accused of being the 
author of the annexation of the Romagnas to the 
kingdom of Victor Emmanuel. He certainly did 
contribute to it; but we believe the Emperor of 
Austria possibly contributed still more. In causing 
his troops to evacuate the six Legations, June 11-12, 

315 



316 FRANCE AND ITALY 

which he was not in the least obliged to do, he left 
the ground open to the revolution and put an end 
himself to Austrian influence, not simply in the 
States of the Church but throughout central Italy. 
It was evident, in fact, that if the Pope lost the 
Romagnas, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, the Duke 
of Parma, and the Duke of Modena would be 
dispossessed. 

IsTo sooner had the Austrian troops evacuated 
Bologna than the pontifical escutcheons were torn 
down, and a junta in which figured the Marquis 
Joachim Pepoli, grandson of Murat and cousin of 
Napoleon III., proclaimed the dictatorship of Victor 
Emmanuel. Imola, Faenza, Ferrara, and Ravenna 
followed the example of Bologna, and the Pope lost 
all the Romagnas. He never regained them. 

Victor Emmanuel did not dare at first to assume 
the dictatorship. He contented himself with resort- 
ing to an expedient, appointing as commissioner the 
Marquis d'Azeglio, who in 1845 had published the 
famous brochure entitled, I Cast delle Romagne. 
The King felt obliged to recall him after the pre- 
liminaries of Villafranca. But this recall was only 
a feint. Instead of concentrating his troops for the 
evacuation, as his official instructions prescribed, M. 
d'Azeglio divided them among the former Austrian 
garrisons, occupied Bologna in force, and then dele- 
gated his powers to his chief of staff. Colonel Falicon, 
who governed in his room and stead. On returning 
to Turin he said to the King : " Sire, I have disobeyed 



THE EOMAGNAS 317 



Your Majesty. Have me brouglit before a council of 
war ! " Victor Emmanuel replied, " You have done 
very well." In spite of the contrary advice of Napo- 
leon III., the Piedmontese troops were maintained at 
Bologna, and the King's minister of finances, by large 
and secretly granted subsidies, enabled the Romagnol 
authorities to provide for public services. This as- 
sistance, denied at first, was afterwards openly pro- 
claimed. 

However, the Emperor of Austria and the Em- 
peror of the French had declared that the Pope 
would be the honorary president of the Italian Con- 
federation, and people were wondering what would 
be the practical result of such a combination. It is 
permissible to believe that if the chair of Saint Peter 
had then been occupied by a diplomatist as skilful 
as Leo XIII., the Holy See, placing itself frankly at 
the head of the Confederation, might possibly have 
overcome the political difficulties and saved the whole 
of its temporal power. But Pius IX., disgusted with 
liberal ideas by bitter experience, considered the title 
of honorary president of a Confederation a snare, and 
made no effort to enter into the views of Napoleon 
III. Influences opposed to France, and especially to 
the Emperor, were in the ascendant at Rome, and 
rendered all agreement impossible, to the great dis- 
tress of a Catholic so fervent as the Empress Eugenie. 

Pius IX. was displeased with Napoleon III. for hav- 
ing demanded of Francis Joseph, at the interview of 
Villafranca, the administrative separation of the Lega- 



318 FBANCE AND ITALY 

tions from the States of the Church. He was equally 
displeased at his giving the epithet of honorary, — 
which Francis Joseph had also wished to suppress, — 
to the presidency of the Italian Confederation, and 
he concluded that this honorariat was merely a flat- 
tering appearance which cloaked evil designs. Yet 
it may be affirmed that Napoleon III., averse to Ital- 
ian unity, desired in principle the maintenance of the 
pontifical power. But, on the other hand, he was 
convinced that Pius IX. could not keep possession of 
the Romagnas without secularizing the government. 

Count de Sainte-Aulaire, Louis Philippe's ambas- 
sador at Rome, had criticised as follows the situation 
of these territories in a despatch dated March 6, 
1831 : " Withdrawn from pontifical authority for 
nearly twenty years, the Legations found themselves 
under a government based upon the great principles 
of modern civilization. The Vienna Congress re- 
placed them under Roman domination. An enlight- 
ened policy would have taken account of the situation 
which had lasted for so considerable a space of time, 
and circumspectly granted institutions which should 
resemble as closely as possible those they had just 
lost. Far from this, they were not even granted the 
privileges they had been enjoying down to 1797. In 
1828, the French government, in the instructions 
given to M. de Chateaubriand, pointed out the dan- 
gers of such a fatal system in energetic terms." 

In the question of the Romagnas Napoleon III. was 
hampered by his youthful antecedents. Although 



THE BOMAGNAS 319 



not literally affiliated to the sect of the Carbonari, he 
had shared in 1831 the passions of the Italian patriots, 
and taken part in the insurrection of the Roraagnas. 
But he could say that even then, what he had desired 
was not the suppression of the power of the popes, 
but the secularization of their government. What he 
aimed at was a reforming and anti-Austrian papacy 
which should place itself at the head of ideas of 
emancipation. Such was likewise the idea of his 
mother, Queen Hortense, who wrote in 1831 : " If 
the Pope were capable of making suitable conces- 
sions, he would be the leader of all Italy to-morrow. 
He might possibly dictate the laws in Europe, and 
restore to religion, allied to liberty, the splendor it 
had of old." 

Napoleon III. was still cherishing this dream when 
in 1859 he tried to place the Italian Confederation 
under the invocation, so to say, of the Sovereign Pon- 
tiff. But the scheme was purely chimerical, and Pius 
IX. absolutely refused to secularize the whole or any 
part of his States. 

On the other hand, the Emperor had not changed 
in any way the ideas expressed by him in a letter, 
written August 18, 1849, to his orderly officer. Colonel 
Edgard Ney, who formed part of the Roman expedi- 
tion : " The French Republic has not sent an army to 
Rome to stifle Italian liberty, but on the contrary to 
regulate by preserving it from its own excesses, and 
to give it a stable foundation by restoring to the 
pontifical throne the Prince who was the first to place 



320 FBANCE AND ITALY 

himself boldly at the head of all useful reforms. . . . 
I summarize as follows the re-establishment of the 
Pope's temporal power: general amity. Seculariza- 
tion of the administration. The Code Napoleon and 
a liberal government." The conclusion of this famous 
letter ran as follows: "When our armies made the 
tour of Europe, they left everywhere, in token of 
their passage, destruction of the abuses of feudality 
and the germs of liberty ; it shall not be said that in 
1849 a French army could have acted in a contrary 
sense and to bring about different results." Ten 
years later, the Emperor had absolutely the same 
programme as the President of the French Republic. 
The divergency of views existing between Pius IX. 
and Napoleon III. could not be other than favorable 
to the progress of the revolution in the Romagnas. 
The principal act of Colonel Falicon's government 
was to put the Code Napoleon in force. After hav- 
ing emitted a national loan of six million lira and 
created a court of accounts, he retired August 1, and 
a man who was supposed to enjoy the Emperor's 
good will, M. Cipriani, was made governor-general. 
He decreed equality of religious, civil, and political 
rights. August 6, the electors were summoned to 
the colleges. The Assembly was opened September 1. 
Among its one hundred and twenty-four members 
were two princes, seven marquises, thirty counts, three 
knights, twenty-seven physicians, seventeen lawyers, 
twelve professors, and three military men, the rest 
being merchants or men of independent means. 



J 



THE BOMAGNAS 321 



Hence the aristocracy constituted nearly half of this 
Assembly. Nevertheless, it cast one hundred and 
twenty-one votes in favor of deposing the govern- 
ment of the Holy See and annexing the Romagnas 
to Sardinia. 

People wondered anxiously whether Victor Em- 
manuel would dare to accept this annexation. 
September 15, deputations from Parma and Modena 
came to notify him of the annexationist votes cast 
by the Assemblies of those two duchies. Count 
San Vitali was at the head of the Parmesan depu- 
tation, and the celebrated composer Verdi among 
its members. Counsellor Muratori led the deputies 
of Modena. The King's reply to the two addresses 
produced very little sensation, because it scarcely 
differed from that given to the Tuscan deputation. 
Great anxiety was felt, however, as to what he would 
say to the Romagnols. He received them at Monza, 
September 24 : "I am grateful," said he, " for the 
wishes formed by the inhabitants of the Romagnas, 
of which you are the interpreters. As a Catholic 
Prince I shall always preserve the most profound 
and unalterable respect for the supreme hierarchy 
of the Church. As an Italian Prince I must re- 
member that Europe, considering that the existing 
condition of the Romagnas demands prompt and 
efficacious measures, has contracted formal obliga- 
tions with your country. I welcome these desires, 
and, strong in the rights conferred upon me, I will 
maintain your cause before the great powers. Con- 



322 FRANCE AND ITALY 

fide in their justice, coiiiide in the generous patriot- 
ism of the Emperor, who will complete the great 
work of reparation which he has so powerfully 
begun, and which will assure to him the gratitude 
of Italy. Europe will recognize that it is a common 
interest and duty to prevent disorder by granting 
satisfaction to the legitimate desires of peoples." 
Hence Victor Emmanuel admitted that it belonged 
to Europe to settle the question beyond appeal. 

Two days later. Prince de La Tour d'Auvergne 
wrote to Count Walewski : " The deputation from 
the Romagnas, guided doubtless by the advice of 
General Dabormida, has refused the invitation of 
the municipality of Turin to visit that capital before 
returning to Bologna. It seems they have also 
given up the notion of going to France to present 
the Emperor with the vote of the Bolognese 
Assembly. They will confine themselves to send- 
ing a person to the Emperor who will submit the 
result of the deliberations of that Assembly to His 
Majesty in an entirely private manner. General 
Dabormida has expressed to me his satisfaction in 
having succeeded in dissuading the Romagnese 
envoys from a proceeding which would have caused 
too great a commotion and certainly have given 
rise, under existing circumstances, to unpleasant 
interpretations." 

Victor Emmanuel and Napoleon III. had already 
a presentiment of the difficulties of every kind 
which would be created for them by the Roman 



THE BOM AG N AS 323 



question. They were well aware that it would be 
difficult, if not impossible, to solve the problems 
presented by this most difficult of subjects from 
the religious, political, and social points of view. 
To both of them the controversies and passions it 
excited must have been a perpetual cause of sadness 
and preoccupation. Throughout the entire reign 
of the two monarchs there was not one hour in 
which the affairs of Rome did not nourish and 
maintain a troubled condition of interests and con- 
sciences which, after thirty-nine years, is existing 
still. 



CHAPTER XLII 

SAINT-SAUVETTR 

"VTAPOLEON III. did not allow tlie flatteries 
-^ of his courtiers to make him lose his head. 
The ovations awarded him and his troops had not 
cast into oblivion either the horrible side that war 
presents even to the conquerors, or the almost 
insoluble problems raised by recent events. His 
humanitarian sentiments had suggested more than 
one painful reflection. His imagination continued 
to be haunted by the scenes of carnage he had 
witnessed, and he began to be doubtful of the 
gratitude of Italy. His moral lassitude was greater 
than his physical fatigue. He needed repose and 
self-concentration and wished to meditate in peace 
upon the difiicult questions which Providence had 
made it incumbent on him to study. He thought 
that mountain air would be good, not merely for 
him but for the Empress, who had also experienced 
many emotions, and he resolved to spend some 
weeks in the Pyrenees, first at Saint-Sauveur and 
afterwards at Biarritz. 

Saint-Sauveur is a very tiny village in the depart- 
ment of the Upper Pyrenees. It consists of a single 

324 



SAINT- SAUVEUB 325 

street ascending the slope of the Som de Laze, above 
the gorge in which boil the waters of the mountain 
stream of Gavarnie. Here the sovereigns lived as 
private persons, enjoying the beauties of nature and 
making daily excursions in the vicinity. Neverthe- 
less Napoleon III. sought in vain to escape from his 
absorbing preoccupations. While at Saint-Sauveur 
he received, at an interval of a few days, two visits 
which disturbed him. One of these was from Count 
Arese, the other from Prince Metternich, the first 
being the advocate of the Italian cause, the second 
of that of Austria, and it was not an easy task to be 
agreeable to both. The Emperor contrived to dis- 
courage neither. 

To Napoleon III. Count Arese had been a youthful 
companion, a friend in exile, and a courtier in mis- 
fortune. This great Milanese noble, who asked 
nothing for himself but all for Italy, had given Louis 
Bonaparte proofs of loyalty which Napoleon III. by 
no means forgot. In 1836, the Prince being trans- 
ported to the United States after the fiasco of Stras- 
burg, Arese had gone to Liverpool in all haste, 
taken ship, and, unknown to the Prince, had reached 
America before him, so that on landing the first 
countenance the Prince beheld was that of a friend. 

The Italian cause could have no better advocate 
than Count Arese. As early as July he had written 
to the Emperor : " Sire, authorized and encouraged 
by your kindness, I come to rob you of a few mo- 
ments and speak to you as unreservedly as in the 



326 FRANCE ANB ITALY 

days of Arenenberg and New York. In the first 
place, I want to be reassured concerning your health 
after such fatigue of body and mind, and also about 
that of the Empress, whose affection has made her a 
sharer in all the chances of the campaign." Count 
Arese tried as follows to prove that Italy would not 
be ungrateful : " Rely on my frankness, with which 
you are well acquainted. After the first astonish- 
ment felt by all on hearing of the unexpected peace 
which mutilated so many brilliant hopes, people 
have made an evident return to the reality of the 
situation and comprehended all you have done, all 
that you may still do for this unhappy Italy, which 
since your early youth has counted you among its 
most sincere and devoted friends. ... I adjure you, 
Sire, take our cause into your own hands and it will 
succeed. You will acquire new glory, and new 
titles to the admiration and gratitude of Italy and 
of posterity." 

The Empress was greatly attached to Count Arese, 
but he found it more difficult to convince her than 
her husband. Not yet knowing that he was coming 
to Saint-Sauveur, she had written him, August 26 : 
" I am trying as hard as I can to become an Italian. 
. . . Are you not afraid of convincing Europe that 
the r61e of redeemer is the trade of fools ? . . . The 
Emperor himself has been for an instant against the 
sentiment of his own country, and he has been obliged 
to revive the sentiment of generosity and glory in 
order to make this country, fatigued already by the 



SAINT- SAUVEUE 327 



hard trials it has undergone, accept a struggle in 
which all it had to expect was gratitude, and in which 
a reverse might have proved a cruel blow." 

Count Arese arrived at Saint-Sauveur August 30. 
The chief object of his mission was the reply which 
Victor Emmanuel would have to make to the Tuscan 
delegates. He tried to prove that the annexations 
of central Italy were inevitable, and he went away 
the bearer of certain encouragements, if not of prom- 
ises. But he had scarcely quitted Saint-Sauveur 
when Prince Metternich arrived as the envoy of the 
Emperor Francis Joseph, and strongly insisted on 
the maintenance of the arrangements of Villafranca, 
adding that any derogation from them would result 
in an indefinite adjournment of his master's generous 
intentions relative to Venetia. 

Greatly embarrassed. Napoleon III. hesitated be- 
tween the two roads that he might take. Septem- 
ber 5 he wrote to Count Arese : " My dear Arese, 
since your departure I have seen Prince Metternich. 
I was very well satisfied with his conversation, and I 
wish to tell you the result in confidence, so that you 
can impart it to the King. However, I must repeat, 
it is necessary that it should remain very confidential 
for the present. 

" I think that if Tuscany recalled the Grand Duke 
we might reunite Parma and Plaisance to Piedmont, 
place the Duchess of Parma at Modena, and obtain 
for the Venetians an Italian administration, an Italian 
army, and a provincial council. The Austrians, as a 



328 FRANCE AND ITALY 

result, would be relegated to the other side of the 
Alps. Such advantages deserve, I think, to be ex- 
amined ; this is why I have written the King to be 
very prudent in his language to the Tuscan deputa- 
tion. I saw the deputation from Modena to-day. I 
spoke to them in that sense. I hope that as a final 
result the peace of Villafranca will have enfranchised 
Italy. It is my dearest wish. I am getting up an 
article for the Mo7iiteur which will explain clearly, I 
hope, the motives of my conduct." 

This article, which appeared in the Moniteur of 
September 9, is very curious. It proves that Napo- 
leon III. had been sincere in signing the treaty of 
Villafranca, and that he continued to aim at the 
establishment of the Italian Confederation, in which 
Venetia would form a part. The Emperor thus ex- 
pressed himself in the article, his personal work: 
" If the treaty were sincerely executed, Austria 
would no longer be a power inimical to the Penin- 
sula, opposing all the national aspirations from 
Parma to Rome, and from Florence to Naples ; but 
would, on the contrary, become a friendly power, 
having consented of its own free will to cease to be 
a German power on this side of the Alps, and to 
develop Italian nationality as far as the shores of the 
Adriatic." 

The note, after blaming the men who, " more pre- 
occupied with small and partial successes than with 
the future of the common country," were hindering 
the consequences of the treaty of Villafranca, went 



SAINT-SAUVEUR 329 

on to say : " What could be simpler and more patri- 
otic than to say to Austria : ' You desire the return 
of the archdukes ? Well, have it so ! But then you 
must loyally carry out your promises concerning 
Venetia. Let her receive a life of her own ; let her 
have an Italian army and administration ; in a Avord, 
let the Emperor of Austria be simply the Grand 
Duke of Venetia, just as the King of the Low Coun- 
tries is only the Grand Duke of Luxembourg.' The 
French government has declared that the archdukes 
shall not be restored to their dominions by force 
of arms, but if a part of the conditions of the peace 
of Villafranca remains unexecuted, the Emperor of 
Austria will think himself discharged from all the 
pledges given in favor of Venetia. Disturbed by 
hostile demonstrations on the right bank of the Po, 
he will remain in a state of war on the left bank, 
and we shall find a policy of distrust and hatred re- 
viving, which will bring about new troubles and mis- 
fortunes." 

Broaching afterwards the question of the Congress, 
the author thus expressed himself : " People seem 
to hope much from a European Congress ; we also 
heartily desire it ; but we greatly doubt whether a 
Congress could obtain better conditions for Italy. 
A Congress will only demand what is just, and would 
it be just to ask a great power for important conces- 
sions without offering it equitable concessions in ex- 
change ? The only means would be war ; but Italy 
must not deceive herself, France is the only power in 



830 FRANCE AND ITALY 

Europe which makes war for an idea, and France 
has fulfilled her task." 

The victor of Magenta and Solferino seemed to 
doubt sometimes the results of his victories. The 
note we have just reproduced gives an inkling of the 
perplexities and anxieties which preoccupied him 
during his stay at Saint-Sauveur. This document, 
stamped to the utmost with the impress of his style 
and character, allows one to read a sentiment of sad- 
ness and almost of discouragement between its lines. 



i 



CHAPTER XLIII 

BIAERITZ AND BORDEAUX 

^T^HE Emperor and Empress left Saiiit-Sauveur, 
September 12, spent the night at Tarbes, and 
arrived the 13th at Biarritz, where they gladly found 
the Prince Imperial. September 18th they received 
the King of the Belgians and the Grand Duke of 
Oldenburg in their villa, as well as many foreigners 
of distinction, Russian and Spanish. The 19th they 
made an excursion on board the Aig/le, a new impe- 
rial yacht constructed with all the modern improve- 
ments. They landed towards six o'clock at Cape 
Breton, where the population came en masse to thank 
the sovereign for the improvements he had ordered 
and which would ensure the future of the port. 

Their stay at Biarritz gave great pleasure to Their 
Majesties, who had been there already in 1857. But 
the Emperor continued to be disturbed by Italian 
affairs. He was dissatisfied with the obstacles op- 
posed by the Piedmontese government to the execu- 
tion of the treaty of Villafranca, and it vexed him to 
find that government apparently resolved not merely 
to annex central Italy but to refuse, as a compensa- 
tion in this hypothesis, to annex Savoy and Nice to 

331 



332 FRANCE AND ITALY 

France. Napoleon III. did not conceal from Count 
Arese the painful impression produced on him by 
such a state of things. He sent him from Biarritz 
the following letter, dated October 3 : " I write you 
to-day to communicate one of the many reports I am 
receiving from Italy, all of which denote the lack of 
firmness in the Piedmontese government. A people 
is not regenerated with lanterns and flowers ; that 
demands firmness and justice. How do you explain 
the fact that the government, so patient when France 
and its chief are insulted, is so decided in Savoy 
against the press when it asks for annexation to 
France ? I beg you to remonstrate seriously with 
the ministry. I shall soon write to the King on the 
subject of the great affairs which must be brought to 
a conclusion." 

The next day, October 4, a second letter, still 
more severe : " My dear Arese, I write you again to- 
day to communicate another note which I have re- 
ceived from Milan. I repeat that it pains me to see 
the heedlessness of the Sardinian government, be- 
cause it must necessarily lead to a coolness between 
us, and I say it to you without presumption, but there 
is not a soul here except myself who is devoted to 
the Italian cause. 

" The Sardinian government cannot allege its im- 
potence where the press is concerned, since in Savoy 
it is quite able to suppress the journals which do not 
agree with it. 

" It is sad to think that while I am constantly 



BIARRITZ AND BORDEAUX 333 

laboring here in favor of Piedmont, they allow me to 
be insulted in every way on the other side of the 
Alps." 

Napoleon III. was not better pleased with Rome 
than with Turin. The Pope declared that he would 
not hear of an Italian Confederation so long as he 
remained dispossessed of the Romagnas, and relations 
between the Vatican and the French government 
were becoming still more strained. On his return 
from Biarritz, the Emperor stopped at Bordeaux, 
where the discourses exchanged between him and 
the Cardinal-archbishop of the city brought into clear 
light all the difficulties of the question. 

Their Majesties arrived at Bordeaux with the 
Prince Imperial, October 10. In spite of the bad 
weather, the inhabitants of the city and the surround- 
ing country thronged around them with hearty ac- 
clamations. The next day, the Emperor received the 
authorities. The Cardinal-archbishop, Mgr. Donnet, 
a prelate very popular in his diocese and in great 
favor at the Tuileries, delivered an address which 
attested the fears of the Catholic world even while 
expressing profound loyalty to the sovereign. 

" Sire," said the Cardinal, " eight years ago, when 
the city of Bordeaux welcomed you with such en- 
thusiasm that the arches of our old basilica shook 
with the acclamations of the crowd, my priests and 
I beheld with joy what seemed to us like the bap- 
tism of the new Empire. At that time we prayed 
for him who had arrested the ever rising flood of the 



334 FRANCE AND ITALY 

revolution, who had renewed the aureole of honor 
on the forehead of the Church and her clergy of 
which others had sought to deprive them, and who 
had inaugurated his great destiny by restoring to the 
Vicar of Jesus Christ his city, his people, and the in- 
tegrity of his dominions. To-day we are still pray- 
ing, Sire, that God may furnish you with the means, 
as He has given you the will, to remain faithful to 
this Christian policy which calls blessings on your 
name, and which is perhaps the secret of the pros- 
perity and the source of the glories of your reign. 
We pray with a persistent confidence, a hope which 
deplorable events and brutal sacrileges cannot dis- 
courage, and the motive of this hope whose realiza- 
tion now seems so difficult, after God, is you. Sire, 
who have been, and who still wish to be, the eldest 
son of the Church, who have uttered these memo- 
rable words : ' The temporal sovereignty of the head 
of the Church is bound up with the splendor of 
Catholicism, as with the liberty and independence of 
Italy.' " 

In concluding, the Cardinal entreated the Emperor 
to assure the triumph of Christ in the person of His 
Vicar, and added that " this triumph would put an 
end to the anxieties of the Catholic world, who would 
salute him with transport." 

Napoleon III. replied: "I thank Your Eminence 
for the sentiments you have just expressed. You 
render justice to my sentiments, yet without mis- 
understanding the difficulties which hamper them. 



BIABEITZ AND BORDEAUX 335 

and you seem to me to comprehend your lofty mis- 
sion well when you seek to strengthen confidence 
rather than to spread alarms. I thank you for recall- 
ing my words, for it is my firm hope that a new era 
of glory for the Church will begin on the day when 
the whole world shares my conviction that the tem- 
poral power of the Holy Father is not opposed to the 
independence of Italy." 

After this optimistic beginning, the response of 
the Emperor left an opening for the greatest fears. 
"The Holy Father," said he, "has reason to be 
anxious about the day, which cannot be far distant, 
when Rome will be evacuated by our troops. For 
Europe cannot permit the occupation which has 
lasted for ten years to be prolonged indefinitely, 
and when our army withdraws, what will it leave 
behind it, anarchy, terror, or peace ? These are ques- 
tions to whose importance nobody is blind. But, be 
very sure that at the epoch in which we live, in order 
to solve them, it is necessary to seek truth with calm- 
ness and to entreat Providence to enlighten peoples 
and kings concerning the wise exercise of their rights 
as well as the extent of their duties, and not to make 
an appeal to ardent passions. I have no doubt that 
the prayers of Your Eminence and of your clergy 
will continue to draw down the blessings of heaven 
upon the Empress, my son, and me." 

The Emperor received an excellent welcome at 
Bordeaux, as he had in 1852. But the situation was 
felt to be less favorable, and the harmony between 



336 FRANCE AND ITALY 

the throne and the altar had not the same solidity. 
It was certain that to the Italian question, already 
so perplexing, was added the Roman question, more 
grave and arduous still. The reply of the Emperor 
to the discourse of the Archbishop was, in fine^ very 
disquieting. An era of difficulties was beginning 
which was to continue to the end of the reign, and 
which has survived it. Napoleon III. had a presenti- 
ment of this. 

On returning to Saint-Cloud, October 12, the 
Emperor found there a sort of congress of Italian 
notables, as they were then called, who sought to 
make the sphinx talk. He gave them audience on 
the 16th. He expressed his wish to see Parma 
annexed to Piedmont, and the young sovereign of 
that duchy transferred to Modena and later on affi- 
anced to a niece of Duke Francis V. As to Tuscany, 
he declared that the restoration of the Grand Duke 
was obligatory, with the grant of a constitution and 
the adoption of the national flag. October 20 he 
addressed a letter to Victor Emmanuel which did 
not appear in the Moniteur but was published in the 
Times^ and then by the Oonstitutionnel, a semi-official 
sheet. In this letter he maintained the stipulations 
of Villafranca, except on one point, the duchy of 
Modena, which should be given to the Duke of 
Parma as compensation for the loss of his duchy, 
annexed to Piedmont. He manifested his hope that, 
if Italian pretensions were thus limited, the Emperor 
Francis Joseph would accord a large autonomy to 



BIARRITZ AND BORDEAUX 337 

Venetia. Things stood at this point when Napoleon 
left Saint-Cloud for the chateau of Compi^gne, where 
a series of brilliant receptions took place, which lasted 
until the Imperial family returned to Paris on De- 
cember 4. 



CHAPTER XLIV 

THE CLOSE OF 1859 

TTTHILE the Emperor was at Compi^gne the 
^ ^ definitive treaty of peace had been signed 
at Zurich, November 10, by Austria, France, and 
Sardinia. The signers for Austria were Count 
Kariloji and Baron de Meysenberg ; for France, 
Baron de Bourqueney and Marquis de Banneville; 
for Sardinia, MM. des Ambrois and Jacteau. The 
three powers pledged themselves to "favor with 
all their efforts the creation of a Confederation 
between the Italian States, which should be placed 
under the honorary presidency of the Holy Father, 
and whose object should be to maintain the indepen- 
dence and inviolability of the confederated States, to 
assure the development of their moral and material 
interests, and to guarantee the interior and exterior 
security of Italy by the existence of a federal army. 
Venetia, which remains under the crown of His 
Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, will form 
one of the States of this Confederation and partici- 
pate in the obligations as well as in the rights 
resulting from the federal pact, the clauses of which 
will be determined by an assembly composed of 
representatives from all the Italian States." 

338 



THE CLOSE OF 1859 339 

The article relating to the dispossessed princes 
ran as follows : " The territorial boundaries of the 
independent States of Italy which were not parties 
to the late war, not being liable to change except 
with the concurrence of the powers which presided 
at their formation, the rights of the Grand Duke of 
Tuscany and of the Duke of Parma are expressly 
reserved between the high contracting parties." 

The peace signed at Zurich resulted in the ap- 
pointment of Prince Metternich as ambassador of 
Francis Joseph at the court of Napoleon III. The 
new ambassador presented his credentials Decem- 
ber 14. The Emperor said : " I firmly hope that 
the relations happily re-established between the 
Emperor of Austria and myself cannot but become 
more friendly by an attentive examination of the 
interests of the two countries. For my part, since I 
have seen the Emperor, I attach great value to his 
personal friendship." 

Prince Metternich was thirty years old ; the Prin- 
cess, twenty-three. They were bound to shine at 
court in virtue of their youth, lofty position, and 
personal charm. Napoleon III. was seeking a diffi- 
cult thing: to stand well at the same time with 
Vienna and Turin. 

In reality, the treaty of Zurich left everything 
at loose ends. One of the signers, Baron de Bour- 
queney, said on returning to Paris : " I bring back 
a peace, but not peace." Emboldened by the 
impunity accorded to its actions, the Piedmontese 



340 FRANCE AND ITALY 

government had placed all the central Italian States 
and the Legations under the authority of its com- 
missioner, M. Buoncompagni. The partisans of the 
former legal title had but one hope remaining : the 
Congress. Napoleon III. had written from Com- 
pidgne, November 9, to Victor Emmanuel: "The 
Congress is going to be convoked ; nothing else can 
settle existing difficulties. . . . Show some energy 
and prove that the peace signed is a serious matter. 
By acting in any other way you will lose Italy." 
It was believed that the Congress would meet at 
Paris in January. The great powers, the Pope, and 
all the Italian sovereigns were to be represented 
in it. 

Count Cavour was getting ready to go to Paris 
as Victor Emmanuel's first plenipotentiary. He 
wrote to one of his friends, M. de La Rive : " If you 
come to Paris this winter you will find me at the 
Hotel Bristol; I have taken the same apartment 
occupied in 1856 by Count Buol, for you know I 
have always liked to invade Austrian territory." 

In a despatch addressed to Count Walewski, 
Prince de La Tour d'Auvergne, minister of France 
at Turin, said : " The appointment of Count Cavour 
as plenipotentiary, greatly desired by liberal opinion 
in Italy, has been not less favorably received by 
moderate men. The Whist Society of Turin, most 
of whose members belong to the higher aristocracy 
of Piedmont, and which has until now been ex- 
tremely averse to his policy, has just elected him 



THE CLOSE OF 1859 341 

its president. ... In talking with me, he has not 
concealed his satisfaction at having to represent 
Italy in a European Congress. He told me that 
his confidence in the Emperor was entire, that he 
was persuaded that His Majesty would finish the 
work he had begun, and defend the cause of Italy 
to the very end before the Congress. Alluding 
subsequently to his personal relations with the 
Emperor at a former period, he assured me that he 
retained sentiments of most respectful gratitude 
towards His Majesty, and denied energetically the 
violent remarks attributed to him after the peace 
of Villafranca. . . . He said a few days ago, to 
General de La Marmora, that if at that time he 
had thought for a moment that things were going 
as they have done, he would not have thought it 
necessary to resign." 

At the very time when all Europe believed in 
the near convocation of the Congress, Napoleon had 
become convinced that this diplomatic assemblage 
would put him into a very embarrassing position 
and oblige him to break with either Austria or Pied- 
mont. According to the cabinet of Vienna, the pro- 
gramme must be laid down in advance, and no one 
could diverge from it under any pretext ; its object 
would be to confirm the former agreements, not to 
destroy them. 

The Prussian government made it plainly evident 
that the Prince Regent's attachment to legitimist 
principles would not permit approbation of the re- 



342 FBANCE AND ITALY 

cent enterprises. As to Russia, in the name of the 
solidarity of crowned heads it stood out against an- 
nexations contrary to international law. 

All the Italian sovereigns, with the exception of 
Victor Emmanuel, considered by them an usurper, 
were on the side of Austria. Since May 22, Francis 
II., a young sovereign attached to the Court of 
Vienna by every sympathetic tie, had been reigning 
at Naples. He had married a sister of the wife of 
Francis Joseph. Threatened by the revolution, he 
held the Piedmontese policy in horror, and regarded 
Victor Emmanuel as an adept and an accomplice of 
Mazzini. Special bonds of amity existed between 
the Courts of Russia and Naples. The Emperor 
Nicholas had been the friend of King Ferdinand, 
father of Francis II., and the Emperor Alexander 
showed great interest in the 3'"0ung sovereign. Up- 
held by Russia and by Austria, the King of Naples 
would inevitably make common cause with the 
princes of central Italy and with the Pope. As to 
Pius IX., he demanded first of all that the Legations 
should be given back to him, and recognized neither 
in a Congress nor in any human power the right to 
despoil him of his States. 

Hampered by the promises made to Francis Joseph 
at the interview of Villafranca, and by the quite re- 
cent stipulations of the Zurich treaty, Napoleon III. 
could not have supported the ambitions of Victor 
Emmanuel in a Congress without being accused of 
double dealing. As to England, she seemed to sup- 



THE CLOSE OF 1859 343 

port Italian aspirations ; but when the day came to 
proceed from words to acts and lend effective con- 
currence to Piedmont, she would be certain to find 
no more pressing business than to get out of the way 
as soon as possible. Certainly she would favor the 
Italian cause, but on condition that she herself should 
have no sacrifices to make, and no risks to run. To 
hold the balance equal between reaction and revolu- 
tion in a Congress was impossible. Determined not 
to renew the war, Napoleon III. had now but one 
idea : to prevent the assembling of a Congress which 
could have no result but the check of the Italian 
cause or the resumption of hostilities. 

An anonymous brochure entitled : The Pope and 
the Congress^ published in Paris, December 22, was 
about to change the face of things. Announced to 
the sound of trumpets by the semi-official journals, 
this sensational brochure was plainly instigated by 
Napoleon III., even if he were not its author. "I 
did not write it," he said to vorrious persons, " but I 
approve of all its ideas." 

Nothing could be more disagreeable to Pius IX. 
than this publication which paid him abundant hom- 
age but demanded that the Romagnas should be 
taken from him, and which said concerning the tem- 
poral power : " The smaller the territory, the greater 
will be the sovereign. . . . The power of the Pope 
will result less from his strength than from his weak- 
ness." Cries of wrath were uttered. Mgr. Dupan- 
loup, Bishop of Orleans, published an indignant 



344 FRANCE AND ITALY 

refutation of the brochure. December 30, the Journal 
de Home, organ of the Vatican, declared that it " was 
a veritable homage to the Revolution, an insidious 
thesis for weak minds incapable of recognizing its 
hidden poison, a cause of pain to all good Catholics." 
The Congress had become impossible. The Pope 
could not be asked to send a representative to a dip- 
lomatic assembly where there was question of record- 
ing his expropriation as an accomplished fact. With 
the exception of England, the non-Catholic powers 
themselves blamed the pamphlet which brought the 
whole question up again. 

The Duke of Montebello, ambassador of France 
at Saint Petersburg, wrote to Count Walewski, De- 
cember 31 : " The brochure The Pope and the Con- 
gress is producing a deplorable effect. Prince 
Gortchakoff said to me last evening : ' I do not 
understand your hesitating to disavow it explicitly 
in the Moniteur. It is a friend who says to you : 
Europe needs repose ; if you trouble it in this way 
periodically, you will inspire apprehensions in every- 
body and end by alienating your best friends ! ' " 

The brochure had been published without the 
knowledge of Count Walewski, all of whose ideas 
it shocked. The Emperor was governing against 
his own government. The Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs was no longer more than a faQade, an optical 
illusion. Unwilling to be the instrument of a policy 
he disapproved, the minister was about to be forced 
to hand in his resignation. 



THE CLOSE OF 1859 345 

After long tergiversation, Napoleon III. had made 
up his mind. He gave up the notion of an Italian 
Confederation which nobody wanted, and he de- 
spaired of obtaining for Venetia an autonomous 
Italian regime. Convinced that the dispossessed 
princes could be restored only by force, he con- 
cluded to permit Piedmont to annex their States, 
but on one condition, namely, that the compensation 
for this aggrandizement should be the annexation 
of Savoy and Nice to France. The jealousies of 
the powers, of England especially, were to render 
very difficult this combination without which France 
would rightly regard herself as having been duped 
and mystified. The task of diplomacy was to be as 
difficult as that of the army had been, and the 
realization of the new imperial programme was to 
encounter obstacles of every sort, not merely abroad, 
but in the interior of France. 

The year 1859 had commenced by the alarms 
arising from the remarks addressed to the Austrian 
ambassador by the Emperor. It was closing amidst 
the anxieties and controversies caused by the Italian 
question, and chiefly by the Roman question. 
Minds were greatly disturbed by indecision. Many 
were asking whether the victories of Magenta and 
Solferino had not been sterile ones for France. 
Disconcerted by the problems still remaining to be 
solved, public opinion continued in a state of be- 
wilderment and trouble. The Emperor did not fail 
to appreciate the difficulty of satisfying it. He 



346 FBANCU AND ITALY 

comprehended that France would not forgive him 
for the blood shed in a war so violently criticised 
unless, in return for her efforts and sacrifices, she 
received an enlargement of territory which might 
flatter her self love. 



INDEX 



Alexander II. of Russia, in 1859 
his relations with Napoleon III. 
very cordial, p. 61 ; why he 
wished to give Austria a les- 
son, p. 63; did not desire the 
unification of Italy, p. 65; de- 
lighted by the peace of Villa- 
franca, p. 274; recognizes that 
Napoleon III. has been a pro- 
found politician as well as a 
great captain, p. 274. 

Antonelli, Cardinal, on behalf of 
the Pope, demands the evacua- 
tion of the Pontifical States by 
the armies of occupation, p. 69 ; 
protests against the seizure of 
the Romagna, p. 217. 

Arese, Count, meets Napoleon III. 
in Genoa, p. 115 ; his early 
friendship for him, p. 325 ; meets 
him at Saint-Sauveur, p. 327. 

Auvergne, Prince de La Tour d', 
minister of France at Turin ; 
his despatches concerning the 
Hiibner incident, pp. 10, 11, 
12; concerning Prince Napo- 
leon's arrival, pp. 16, 17; op- 
posed to the Italian War, p. 46 ; 
his opinion of Cavour, pp. 256- 
57 ; on the sensation created at 
Turin by the peace of Villa- 
franca, pp. 266-67 ; on Tuscan 
sentiment, pp. 301, 302; on the 
appointment of Cavour as pleni- 
potentiary, pp. 340, 341. 

Bailliencourt, General de, his 
curious account of Victor Em- 
manuel's talk after Cavour's 
resignation, p. 259 et seq. ; de- 



scribes the dinner given at Mi- 
lan to Napoleon III. and Victor 
Emmanuel, pp. 264-65. 

Banneville, Marquis de, charge 
d'affaires of France at Turin; 
his despatches, pp. 9, 10, 12, 14, 
27, 39. 

Baroche, president of French 
Council of State ; his speech 
after the Emperor's return from 
Italy, p. 276. 

Bismarck, possibly the only Ger- 
man who in 1859 shared the 
views of Napoleon III., p. 56; 
defends him against the preju- 
dices of Frederick William IV., 
p. 57 ; Napoleon III. believed in 
his star. 

BuoL, Count, Austrian Minister of 
Foreign Affairs, p. 14; praises 
Napoleon's speech from the 
throne, p. 40. 

BuoNCAMPAGNi, M. de, Sardinian 
minister at Florence, lays the 
train for the revolution in that 
city, p. 212. 

Canrobert, Marshal, describes 
the taking of Ponte di Magenta, 
pp. 142-43. 

Cassagnac, a. G. de, describes Na- 
poleon III. as a journalist, p. 29. 

Cavour, Count, addresses a 
memorandum to England, p. 
69 ; interviews Napoleon III. by 
appointment, p. 77 ; writes the 
Emperor a letter, eutreating him 
not to adopt a retrograde policy, 
p. 78 ; resigns his office after the 
peace of Villafranca, p. 257 ; what 



347 



848 



INDEX 



his compatriots said of his resig- 
nation, p. 261 ; sees Napoleon III. 
for the last time at Turin, p. 
269; appointed Victor Emman- 
uel's plenipotentiary at the Con- 
gress, p. 340. 

Chartres, Due de, acts as a Sar- 
dinian cavalry officer during the 
war of Italy, p. 128; La Mar- 
mora's orderly officer, p. 167. 

Chatbaurenard, Marquis de, 
charg4 d'affaires of France at 
Saint Petersburg ; despatches to 
Walewski, pp. 61, 62, 65. 

Clotildb, Princess, her betrothal 
announced, p. 14 ; renounces her 
inheritance, p. 19 ; her marriage 
to Prince Napoleon, p. 20; char- 
acteristics of, p. 23 et seq. 

CoTTE, General de, his death de- 
scribed, p. 178. 

Derby, Lord, English Prime Min- 
ister, quoted, pp. 148, 149. 

DoNNET, Cardinal, Archbishop of 
Bordeaux, his address to the Em- 
peror, pp. 333, 334. 

DUPANLOUP, Bishop of Orleans, 
makes an indignant reply to the 
brochure : The Fope and the Con- 
gress, p. 344. 

England, opinions of her public 
men on the Italian question, p. 
48 et seq. 

EspiNASSB, General, killed at Ma- 
genta, p. 145 ; the Emi^eror's 
emotion on recognizing his body, 
p. 151. 

Eugenie, the Empress, regent 
during the war, p. 202 et seq. ; 
witnesses the return of the 
troops with the Prince Imperial, 
pp. 286, 288; deeply interested 
in the Duchess of Parma, p. 304 ; 
writes to Arese about the Italian 
question, p. 326. 

Farini, Piedmontese commission- 
er at Modeua, described, j). 311. 



Favre, Jules, extract of letter to 
M. Rothan, p. 7; defends Pied- 
mont and denounces Austria, p. 
93. 

Flbury, General, aide-de-camp of 
Napoleon III., acquaints him 
with the dissatisfaction of his 
officers after the battle of Ma- 
genta, p. 152 ; criticises the hasty 
attack at Melegnano, p. 172; 
letters to his wife before Solfer- 
ino, p. 177 et seq. ; describes the 
attitude of Prince Napoleon after 
Solferino, p. 218 ; sent with a 
letter to Francis Joseph propos- 
ing a cessation of hostilities, 
p. 230 et seq. ; regrets changes 
wrought by a democratic gov- 
ernment in the appearance of 
the French army, p. 245. 

FouRCADB, editorial writer in the 
Revue des Deux Mondes, quoted 
pp. 44, 45, 280. 

Francis Joseph, Emperor of Aus- 
tria, sends the Archduke Albert 
on a mission to the Prince Re- 
gent of Prussia, p. 69; estab- 
lishes his headquarters at Villa- 
franca, p. 176; receives a Prus- 
sian note which determines him 
to take the offensive, p. 180 ; or- 
ders a retreat beyond the Mincio, 
p. 191; receives a letter from 
Napoleon III. proposing an armis- 
tice, p. 232 ; incurred fewer risks 
than Napoleon III. from a con- 
tinuation of the war, p. 233 ; ac- 
cepts armistice, p. 234; meets 
the French Emperor at Villa- 
franca, p. 242; refuses to cede 
Lombardy to Sardinia and to 
abandon Venice, p. 243; agrees 
to join France in asking the Pope 
for reforms in his states, p. 244; 
discusses the conditions of peace 
with Prince Napoleon, p. 249 et 
seq. ; text of his reply to Napo- 
leon III., p. 253 et seq. 

Garibaldi, Giuseppe, said to have 



INDEX 



349 



placed himself at the disposition 
of the Sardinian government and 
renounced all alliance with the 
Mazzinians in case of war, p. 10 ; 
enters Como with his volunteers 
after the battle of Montebello, 
p. 123. 

Gorge, M. de La, quoted, pp. 64, 
281. 

GoRTCHAKOFF, PrincB, admires 
the French Emperor's sagacity 
in concluding the Italian War, 
pp. 273-74. 

Gramont, Due de, ambassador of 
France at Rome, opposed to the 
war, p. 46 ; despatch concerning 
the Emperor's speech from the 
throne, pp. 68-69. 

GuERONNiERE, Vlscount de La, 
anonymous author of the bro- 
chure. The Emperor Napoleon 
III. and Italy, p. 29 et seq. 

Hesse, Field Marshal Baron, Aus- 
trian chief of staff, peace com- 
missioner at Villafranca, p. 237. 

Htlliers, Marshal Baraguey d', 
commander of 1st army corps, p. 
162 ; reports the losses after bat- 
tle of Melegnano, p. 167 ; criti- 
cised by Fleury for precipitating 
the attack, p. 172. 

HoHENLOHB, Princc, his errand to 
Napoleon III. at Valeggio, p. 
241. 

HtJBNER, Baron, Austrian ambas- 
sador at Paris, the effect pro- 
duced by the Emperor's remark 
to him on New Year's Day, p. 8 
et seq. 

Italy, the War of, inaugurated a 
new era, p. 6; the attitude of 
French parties after it began, p. 
97 et seq. 

IvoY, Colonel Paulze d', killed at 
Melegnano, p. 165. 

La GRAvikRB, Bear-Admiral Jur- 
ien de, p. 226. 



La Marmora, General de, writes 
Cavour that the armistice may 
lead to peace, p. 257. 

Lanza, Sardinian Minister of Fi- 
nance, proposes a war loan, p. 28. 

La Tour, Viscount de, speech in 
the Corps Le'gislatif, pp. 94-95. 

Lebrun, General, describes the 
sufferings of the troops after 
battle of Melegnano, p. 171. 

Lemercier, Viscount Anatole, ex- 
presses the anxieties of France 
concerning the Pa^^acy, pp. 93-94. 

Leopold, Grand Duke of Tuscany, 
abdicates in favor of his son, p. 
293. 

Lhuys, Drouyn de, favors Aus- 
trian alliance, opposes the prin- 
ciple of nationalities, p. 45. 

MacMahon, commander of 2d 
army corps; report to the Em- 
peror after the battle of Tur- 
bigo, p. 134; created Marshal of 
France and Duke of Magenta 
after the battle of Magenta, p. 
152. 

Magenta, battle of, p. 136 et seq. 

Mantua, not included in the ces- 
sion of Lombardy, pp. 251, 254. 

Martimprey, General de, second 
French peace commissioner, at 
Villafranca, p. 237. 

Massa, Marquis de, describes 
scenes at Milan after the battle 
of Melegnano, pp. 170, 171; 
scenes of the triumph on the re- 
turn of the troops, p. 285. 

Melegnano, battle of, p. 162 et 
seq. 

Mensdorf - PouiLLY, General 
Count de, second Austrian peace 
commissioner at Villafranca, p. 
237. 

Metternich, Prince, his visit to 
Napoleon III. at Saint-Sauveur, 
pp. 327-28 ; made ambassador to 
France, p. 339. 

Modena, Duke Francis of, shuts 
himself up in his fortress of 



350 



INDEX 



Brescello, p. 216 ; his conduct 
unfavorably compared with that 
of the Duchess of Parma, p. 306. 

MoLTKE, Marshal, states the mili- 
tary condition of Prussia, in 
1859, p. 248. 

MoNTEBBLLO, the battle of, de- 
scribed, p. 118 et seq. 

MoNTEBELLO, Duc dc, Frcuch am- 
bassador to Russia, p. 46 ; noti- 
fies Walewski that the Russian 
Cabinet thinks negotiations for 
peace should begin, p. 219 ; that 
Russia favors the cause of the 
young Duke of Parma, p. 307 ; 
describes the satisfaction of 
Alexander II. and Prince Gort- 
chakofE at the conclusion of the 
war, pp. 273-74; despatch con- 
cerning The Pope and the Con- 
gress, p. 344. 

MoRNT, Count de, an advocate of 
peace, p. 43; favors the Russian 
alliance, p. 46; thinks the princi- 
ple of nationalities is chiefly 
supported by revolutionists, p. 
46; praises Napoleon III. when 
he returns from the war, pp. 
275-76. 

MosBOURG, Count de, describes 
the Duchess of Parma's depar- 
ture from her dominions, p. 305. 

MousTiER, Marquis de, minister 
of France at Berlin, p. 46. 

Napoleon HI., full light thrown 
on him by the Italian War, p. 3 
etseq.; the anonymous brochure, 
p. 28 et seq. ; speech from the 
throne, p. 35 et seq. ; replies to 
Victoria's letter, p. 51; special 
liking for Bismarck, p. 57; goes 
to war, p. 109; first order of the 
day, p. 113 ; proclamations at 
Milan, pp. 158-60; directs all 
military operations at Solferino, 
p. 193; proclamation after the 
battle, pp. 198, 199; prepares for 
war while intending peace, p. 
224 et seq. ; proclamation from 



Valeggio, p. 238 ; to the army 
after the peace of Villafranca, 
pp. 262-63; reception at Milan, 
pp. 264, 265; meets Cavour at 
Turin, pp. 268-69 ; disagrees with 
the French estimate of the Ger- 
man Imidwehr, p. 273; replies to 
address of the great bodies of 
state, p. 276 et seq. ; his reply 
to the Nuncio, p. 279 ; speech at 
the Louvre dinner, pp. 289-90; 
political amnesty extended to 
all but the Bourbons, p. 291 ; 
recommends Modenese autono- 
my, p. 313 ; hampered by his an- 
tecedents, p. 319 ; quoted on the 
attitude of the French Republic 
in Rome, pp. 319-20; forebodes 
the difSculties of the Roman 
question, pp. 322-23; meets 
Arese and Metternich, p. 327; 
his article in the Moniteur, pp. 
328-29; dissatisfied with the 
Pope, p. 333 ; his reply to Cardi- 
nal Donnet, pp. 334-35; con- 
vinced that a European Con- 
gress would embarrass him and 
concludes to dispense with it, 
p. 341 et seq. ; instigates the 
brochure which makes it im- 
possible, p. 343 et seq. ; abandons 
the notion of an Italian Confed- 
eration and demands the an- 
nexation of Savoy and Nice, p. 
345. 
Napoleon, Prince, marries Prin- 
cess Clotilde of Savoy, p. 20 ; re- 
lieved of ministerial functions, 
p. 71 ; commands 5th army 
corps during the war, p. 211 ; 
antagonizes in Leghorn the 
minister of France, p. 213; the 
bearer of the conditions of 
peace, p. 249; discusses the sepa- 
rate paragraphs with Francis 
Joseph, p. 249 et seq. 

Ollivier, M. Emile, quoted on 
the policy of Napoleon III., pp. 
31-32. 



INDEX 



351 



Pagerib, Countess Stephanie de 
Tasclier de La, quoted on the 
impression produced in France 
by the ultimatum, p. 84; the 
Empress on the eve of war, p. 
106 ; the Emperor on his return 
from Italy, p. 272; the impres- 
sion produced by the peace, pp. 
279-80. 

Palestro, battle of, p. 123 et seq. 

Palmeri, governor of Parma 
luader Victor Emmanuel, p. 307. 

Parma, Duchess of, sister of Count 
of Chambord, p. 216 ; why Fran- 
cis Joseph did not defend her 
rights at Villafranca, p. 253; 
leaves Parma, pp. 304-5; her 
cause favored by Napoleon III. 
and Alexander II., but disre- 
garded by Piedmontese govern- 
ment, p. 307. 

Persignt, Count, ambassador of 
France at London, favors English 
alliance but opposes principle of 
nationalities, p. 15 ; repulsed by 
Palmerston when he urges him 
to assist Napoleon III. in making 
peace, p. 223. 

Peschiera, fortress of, not in- 
cluded in the cession of Lom- 
bardy, pp. 251, 254. 

Pius IX., under an illusion con- 
cerning his temporal power, p. 
68 ; proposed as honorary presi- 
dent of an Italian Confederation, 
pp. 243, 250 ; will not consider it 
unless the Romagna is first re- 
stored to him, p. 333. 

Plichon, speech before the Corps 
Legislatif, pp. 94-95. 

PoNiATOwsKi, Prince Joseph, pp. 
298-99. 

RiCASOLi, Baron, pp. 293, 295. 

RoccA, Count della, Sardinian 
peace commissioner at Villa- 
franca, p. 237. 

RoMAiN-DESFOSSES,Vice- Admiral, 
pp. 226, 235. 

Russia, its attitude toward Italy 



in 1859, p. 61 et seq. ; its moral 
support the chief object of Napo- 
leon III. in the Stuttgart inter- 
view, p. 62; flatly opposed to 
Italian unity, p. 66 ; diplomatic 
situation in, after Solferino, p. 
219. 

Saintb-Aulaire, Count de, criti- 
cises the political condition of 
the Romagna in 1831, p. 318. 

Saint-Jean d'Angely, Regnaud, 
created marshal of France after 
battle of Magenta, p. 153. 

ScHouvALOFF, Couut, scut by 
Alexander 11. to follow the 
operations of the Italian cam- 
paign, p. 220. 

Solferino, battle of, p. 182 et seq. 

Thiers, M., describes Piedmont 

in 1852, p. 45. 
Thorane, Grand, French consul 

at Chambery, describes the 

Emperor's reception there, pp. 

269-70. 
Troplong, President of French 

Senate, compares Napoleon III. 

to Scipio, p. 275. 
Troubetzkot, Princess, wife of 

Count de Morny, p. 75. 
TuRBiGO, battle of, p. 131 et seq. 
Turin, angry demonstrations after 

peace of Villafranca, pp. 265- 

66. 

Ultimatum, the Austrian, p. 82 
et seq. 

UsBDON, M. d', Prussian minister 
at Frankfort, p. 59 ; his motion 
in the Diet that the German 
army contingent should be put 
into marching order, p. 60. 

Vaillant, Marshal, French peace 
commissioner at Villafranca, p. 
237. 

Vanoal, Count Albert, extract 
from speech when received into 
the French Academy, p. 6. 



352 



INDEX 



Vaybb, Marquis de Ferriere le, 
minister of France at Turin, p. 
46 ; despatches concerning Prince 
Napoleon, p. 213 et seq./ con- 
cerning Tuscany, pp. 294r-97. 

Victor Emmanuel, aggressor in 
the Italian War, p. 5 ; makes a 
war loan, p. 28 ; letter of, after 
battle of Palestro, p. 129; fights 
at San Martino during battle 
of Solferino, p. 192; proclaimed 
dictator of the Romagna, p. 217 ; 
disappointed by the peace of 
Villafranca, p. 247 ; did not like 
Cavour, p. 258 ; curious remarks 
after Cavour resigns, pp. 259-60 ; 
replies to Tuscan delegation, p. 
301 ; forebodes the difficulties of 
the Roman question, pp. 323-25. 

Victoria, Queen, extract from 
speech from the throne in Feb., 
1859, p. 48; writes to Napoleon 
III., pleading for peace, and 



warning him that England will 
not assist him, p. 51. 

Villafranca, armistice of, pp. 
237-38 ; interview of the French 
and Austrian emperors at, p. 
240 et seq. ," text of the articles of 
peace of, pp. 253-54; articles of, 
signed by both sovereigns, p. 255. 

ViTU, M., journalistic collaborator 
of Napoleon III., p. 29. 

Walewski, Count, Minister of 
Foreign Affairs, seeks to lessen 
the importance of the Hiibner 
incident, p. 9; opposed on prin- 
ciple to the Italian War, p. 46 ; 
telegraphs Pelissier, pp. 81, 82 ; 
a convinced partisan of Tuscan 
autonomy, p. 214; sends Napo- 
leon III. alarming reports to in- 
duce discontinuance of the war, 
p. 221 ; despatch concerning Tus- 
cany, p. 294. 



THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE. 

By IMBERT DE SAINT-AMAND. 



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FRANCE AND ITALY. 

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Vol. I. — LOUIS NAPOLEON AND MADEMOISELLE 
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